What the Audit Commission was too polite to say

Yesterday we published the Audit Commission "Oneplace" organisational assessment report on Boston Borough Council and made the point that we felt the Commission was trying desperately to find something to call positive to avoid total condemnation of the council.
Well is that the case or not?
We took a look between the lines to see what sort of interpretation could be drawn from the report.
It says the council performs poorly because of lack of leadership until very recently and a lack of capacity at a senior level.
This is clearly an attack on the Bypass Independents Party, who, after more than two and a half years in charge of the borough can no longer fall back on blaming the previous administration.
The appointment of Richard Harbord as acting Chief Executive has gone a long way to paper over the cracks, and whilst the lack of capacity at a senior level is partly being addressed, the fact that it has gone on for so long is again the fault of the BBI.
What about the criticism that "In recent years plans have not been completed when expected, there has been a track record of services not being planned properly and the needs of local people have not been taken into full consideration. Performance does not meet the Council's own targets, and the process for managing performance is not fully used or enforced. Unless capacity at a senior level is addressed and scrutiny is enhanced, further improvement will be difficult to achieve."
Again, what a desperate indictment of the BBI. An accusation of total failure to do the job for which it was elected.
The "scores" tell it all.
One out of four for Managing Performance, Use of Resources, Governing the Business and Managing Resources and just two out of four for Managing Finances.
At senior management level there is lack of capacity and resources to drive improvements forward, and staff feel they are not getting the leadership they need to support the direction the council is going in.
Again, what a dreadful picture of a floundering administration. Not only does it not care about the taxpayers it pledged to represent, but it treats its staff in the same cavalier manner.
And what improvements can the BBI boast about?
The Into Town bus service.
Really? Not if you see it as the ruination of the ambiance of Strait Bargate.
The government Swim4life initiative, ‘fit kids' programmes.
Walking groups to help residents get fitter.
The town centre clean up - done by local people who aren't the litterers, but concerned citizens doing the job the borough has failed to do for them.
And with no sense of irony, the Audit Commission adds: "Keeping it clean is now the challenge." That's a challenge that our eyes tell us has already been lost.
Improvements to the Market Place are mentioned which have improved occupancy.
But guess what - the market traders have taken over the running of the market stalls.
More and more, it seems that once the BBI abdicates responsibility for a particular task, things immediately improve.
Residents are "more satisfied" with the area as a place to live and believe the community is getting on better together - but Boston is still well below the national average.
The number of people who feel drink and drugs are an issue in open spaces has also reduced but are still at a level most residents would feel are unacceptable.
Council Leader Richard Austin has little room for manoeuvre in the fact of such damning criticism.
The best he can say is that it shows the council, working with other public authorities, is delivering against some of the area's priorities.
He goes on: "The organisational assessment, of which the council was already fully aware, makes it clear for residents the scale of the challenge we are dealing with and the need to improve."
So? - We were aware.
And we didn't do anything until we were pushed.
Councillor Austin says he's confident that next year's report "will show the improvement our residents expect and deserve."
The Audit Commission can't say it, but we can.
If Boston was company and the BBI its board of directors, the shareholders would be baying for their collective resignation.
Boston isn't a company - but even so, this louche, lacklustre bunch of amateurs should have the decency to quit now, and hand the job over to people who can do it.

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