Zeroes - not heroes!

Twelve months on, and still the Boston Bypass Independents fail to get a grasp on mathematics.
On the borough's website, under the headline: "Council Tax: What YOU pay" the BBI leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin tells us "the Cabinet has agreed a zero per cent increase in the council tax...."
As we pointed out when this fatuous phrase was first uttered this time last year, you cannot have a zero per cent increase in anything - but then, it's only English, isn't it so why not mangle it like you mangle everything else?
In fact, as is so often the case, the council contradicts itself by saying; "Less than 4p a week – that’s how much Boston Borough Council’s increase in the council tax looks set to cost an average band D household."
Given that the bulk of properties in Boston are in Band A, we wonder why the council doesn't use that figure to explain the true cost to the taxpayers, rather than the preferred Band D measure, but that's probably just to add to the general confusion.
In fact, there will be an increase in council tax, but the purpose of explaining it to the great unwashed (that's us) is to blame the drainage boards for the rise. As Councillor Austin goes on to tell us, without a 1.1 per cent increase from drainage boards, Boston borough residents would have had a second year with no increase in their council tax at all "in view of the difficult circumstances which many families find themselves in..."
By way of damning with faint praise, he adds "The work the drainage boards do is vitally important in keeping the borough flood free."
And just in case we are still unsure of where to place the blame for any rise in council tax, we are reminded that although the borough council collects the tax, 75 per cent of the total bill is kept by Lincolnshire County Council, 12 per cent goes to Lincolnshire Police, and a drop in the ocean to parish councils.
Don't blame us, Guv, a big boy did it and ran away.
For some peculiar reason, although savings of £58,000 in the coming financial year and £65,000 in 2011/12 could be made if the laughable money-wasting  Haven arts centre was mothballed, talks are still going on with Lincolnshire County Council to try to safeguard the centre and possibly let the Friends of the Haven (apparently they have some) continue to use the building.
Mothballing the public toilets in Wide Bargate for two years would save £52,000, and increasing the cost of dying as well as living by upping adult fees at the crematorium would bring in an extra £84,000 by 2012/13.
We think the obsession with keeping council tax rises at zero is stupid.
The council is strapped for cash, and had it followed the lead set by Lincolnshire County Council and imposed a reasonable and acceptable 2.5%, no one would have been seriously out of pocket, and there would have been more cash in the kitty to spend for the benefit of the borough - perhaps obviating the need to increase crematorium fees and mothball the toilets.
It really does seem that all the BBI is interested in is its image - but as we all know there is nothing of substance beneath the surface.
Amidst all of this there is also a recommendation that councillors' allowances should rise by 4.6%.
You may be surprised to learn that we have no problem with this.
Many members of Boston Borough Council (and we stress the word many) work very hard and if they don't mind the shirkers among them sharing the benefits, then nor do we.
In fact allowances on Boston Borough Council are 40% below the national average - again partly due to some unnecessary showing off by the BBI in the early days when they voted against a reasonable increase just to show how in touch with the voters they were - so 4.6% is just a drop in the ocean.
What a shame we can't drop the BBI in the ocean as well.

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