Boston turns down merger plan ....

Boston Borough Council has rejected the plan to merge five "back office" services with South Holland and East Lindsey district councils.
Despite the fact that Boston claimed to have pioneered the idea, and that the merger promised savings of millions of pounds over a ten year period.
How do we know this.....?
By reading a joint statement from SHDC and ELDC, issued this morning, which says:
"An innovative merged services deal which will deliver savings for our residents while maintaining service standards and improving efficiency has been given the go-ahead by South Holland and East Lindsey District councils.
Full Council meetings were held at each authority on 28th September. Members at East Lindsey and South Holland voted for the proposals, with Boston Borough Council voting against the recommendations.
"A spokesman for both councils said: 'This means that we will be working together on a revised business plan for our two authorities only. We will be carrying out a re-assessment of the figures and working on bringing in merged services within 15 months.
"'I believe that this deal, although now only with two councils signed up, will nevertheless deliver savings and offer residents better value for their council tax.
"'This landmark decision shows that we will be leading the way in the county and the region in providing better, more cost-effective public services.
"'All our staff have great experience of providing a high level of customer service and by working together with our neighbours we will be offering residents better value for their council tax, while continuing to provide good public services.
"'We will be able to generate savings through economies of scale and more efficient ways of working.
"'By voting for an in-house merger we get the best of both worlds - we will be building on our experience of providing top class public services and marrying that with stringent business processes to root out duplication, red-tape and bureaucracy.
"'We believe this is a good deal for our residents and for our district. Merging these support services helps protect front-line services and ensures we can continue to attract the highest calibre of people working for our area.'"
Doubtless Boston will get around to explaining the decision to the punters when it finds the time.

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