We're talking of the Overview and Scrutiny - Performance Review and Governance Committee of Boston Borough Council, which met last week to debate the calling in of a cabinet decision to back a "Boston Healthy Lifestyles Hub" - helpfully also referred to in the agenda papers as a "cafe."
As is customary these days, the BBI cabinet steamrollers decisions through the council in a way that means not only its non-cabinet colleagues, but the substantial coalition of opposition members have no say in the matter whatsoever.
Equally, as is also customary these days, any public attempt to discover what's going on is roundly thwarted, as in the case of trying to view details of the call-in request online, the only information available is "THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY."
Perhaps someone should explain that the use of capital letters in e-communication is regarded as shouting, and that shouting is regarded as rude - not that this will matter much, we are sure.
So, for reasons withheld from the public, a group of at least four councillors objected to the proposal going through without consultation or discussion.
Thank heaven for flies on the wall.
As a result we now know that the discussion began with the Deputy Leader, Councillor Brenda Owen - who is also the pertinent portfolio holder for housing, health and learning - tearing the rebel quartet off a strip, saying she was "absolutely astounded" at such action being applied to this proposal, and that there was no justification whatsoever for it to have been called in. As if her wrath was not enough, she was also backed up by that other deputy leader, Councillor Alison Austin, to make the objectors even more ashamed.
Our fly on the wall reckons someone should have a word with these two, and explain that this type of scrutiny is designed to minimise risks to council funding and to its reputation, and they, as councillors ultimately benefit from it.
The general feeling is that such councillors need to begin to see call-ins as an opportunity to have input from outside the BBI cabinet bubble, instead of displaying such childish paranoia.
Councillor Owen had apparently ignored the fact no details or costs appeared in the papers, and that several statements rang alarm bells by stating public funding and support was or would be required.
Our fly on the wall told us: "Councillor Owen needs to be informed that her admonishments were thoughtless and unwelcome; that she should know there was support for the aspirations of the proposal, and that members were merely making sure that Boston Borough Council was not being massaged into yet another ongoing financial burden."
But all's well that ends well.
To the great surprise and relief of the callers-in, an assurance was made that no funding of any description was being sought - but just to be on the safe side, a request was made that this was noted.
The final irony was that if Councillor Owen, as Portfolio Holder, had included this major piece of information in the first place, the call-in would not have been activated, and chastisement avoided.
Despite all this, Boston Eye still has some doubts.
The idea of this project is that it will be self-funding after three years, which is something we very much doubt - but that is when the council will most probably be asked to bung in a few thousand to keep it going.
There is also the issue of the empty shops funding grant, which we mentioned yesterday.
A line in the proposals for the "Boston Healthy Lifestyles Hub" (cafe) says that should the grant "not be fully allocated, then it may be appropriate for the council to consider making a financial contribution towards the Boston Health Lifestyles Hub.
Given the shadow cast by empty shops over the Boston townscape, there is no earthly reason why all the grant money could and should not be fully allocated, so the very suggestion of a surplus - when it comes from the BBI - is as good as a cast iron guarantee that money will remain be and thrown at yet another white elephant.
We thank our fly on the wall for the insight, and caution: Watch out for BBI councillors armed with Flit guns!
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
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