Sponsored by
Letter: on school crossing patrols being saved - Unpopular and unnecessary move
I would like to thank everyone for their support for the school crossing patrollers (aka lollipop ladies/men, not guards) and helping us convince the Tory councillors, yet again, that any move to remove council-funded school crossing patrollers is not only unpopular, but also unnecessary.
Two years ago, I launched a similar campaign, only to be ridiculed by councillors as being misguided and mis-informed.
I feel vindicated now that it is widely known that the plans to scrap our school crossing patrollers were indeed genuine and that some members of our council would put cost before safety.
However, it is of great concern that this is the only part of the budget that has been removed.
There are still plans to waste £93,000 celebrating the Olympic torch passing through the city.
Also still in place are plans to spend £30,000 celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
There remain in place plans to cut funding, or to close, sheltered housing for a number of the city’s elderly. Also, plans to reduce staff in other important areas remain in place.
And what of the plan to spend £600,000 developing a “river taxi” service, which is neither needed nor wanted? Is this proposal still on the table?
Why, when jobs are under consideration of redundancy, are such moronic wastes of taxpayers’ money even being considered?
Such proposals should never have found their way into a budget plan while drastic funding reductions are to be made.
The council should be taking a more long-term view with regard to the future and ongoing economy of the city. We need jobs, not fleeting glamour!
Employment will see wages being spent in the shops, bars and various other entertainment venues in the city, which will, in turn, create even more employment.
It is utter madness for members of the council to say they want to encourage new businesses into the city while they are attacking employment prospects of potentially hundreds of people within Peterborough.
The whole budget needs to be re-thought.
Scrap any unnecessary ‘look at me’ spending; instead, re-invest that money into ongoing employment opportunities.
Do not scrap jobs. Cut hours. Then, when economic recovery returns, we won’t be struggling to train new employees to provide vital services that have been scrapped for the sake of some short-term solutions.
Michael Williams
Paston,
Peterborough
Related: ET lollipop campaign brings city council budget u-turn, 27 January 2012
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 1 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Ma Hubbard
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 10:19 PMAs the population of Peterborough elected these idiots into a position of power, perhaps the electorate can rally together in a vote of no confidence with the current council administration? If something is not done soon to halt these plans I fear the lives of some of the most vulnerable of Peterborough's citizens will be affected with no chance of reversal.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.