Control yourself - tomorrow

is Lincolnshire Day!

Don’t get too excited, but tomorrow is the fifth “Lincolnshire Day” - held on the anniversary of the county uprising against Henry VIII in 1536 - which was known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.
The date for the event was chosen all those years ago by a ballot among two of the county’s least influential groups - readers of Lincolnshire Life magazine and BBC Radio Lincolnshire listeners.
Despite the fact that the event is tied to a particular date, we note that activities to mark it are being held randomly - if sporadically - throughout the month of October.
According to the “Lincolnshire Day” website, there are only eight events being held on the day itself, followed by three on Saturday and two on Sunday.
Thereafter, there are two more events, one on October 24th and one on the 30th.
And guess what?
Despite all its claims about its place in the nation and county’s history not a single event in Boston is listed.
Although the event does get a mention on the Borough Council’s what’s on list, it is to invite us all to travel to the Lincolnshire Showground (near Lincoln) for the first (and probably the last) Lincolnshire Business Convention.
“Lincolnshire Day” has emerged as something of a damp squib five years on from its inception, with the usual stuff celebrating the joy of sausages and the tendency to be Lincoln-centric.
But having said that, lowlier places than Boston, such as Alford, Mablethorpe and Horncastle have managed to wave the flag.
Perhaps there’s a little more spark within the walls of Tedder Hall than there is in the Avenue Foch also known as West Street.
Whatever, the bottom line is that an opportunity has been missed.
Where have we heard that line before?

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Expect no surprises from BID study

The rumpus over the uselessness of the Boston Business Improvement District (BID) has prompted Boston Borough Council to set up yet another talking shop which is sure to reach a foregone conclusion.
A report at tonight's meeting of the Policy and Projects Committee recommends forming a “Task and Finish” group to review Boston BID to see if it is operating effectively.
Despite the fact that the answer is glaringly obvious, we are certain that the outcome will be to suggest some minor tinkering with the BID’s motor, and then to allow it to potter hopelessly on - no matter what its members may think.
Let’s not forget that once a shaky “majority” voted to introduce the BID to Boston, every business in the area became a member compulsorily - even if they had not voted - and forced to pay a levy of 1% of their business rate to fund the BID’s “services.”
Over five years, it is claimed that this will raise £650,000 for the betterment of business in Boston - and it is also claimed than the same amount will be raised in matched funding.
Aside from the fact that this latter idea is pie in the sky, more than 30% of the levy money is earmarked for staff and administration costs.
So far, more than a year on, the best the BID has come up with is some basic litter collecting, a largely impotent “security” force in the shape of the Town Rangers, one of the most pathetic business “directories” we have ever seen, and running occasional errands for Boston Borough Council.
And, as a number of “members” have found to their cost, withholding their levy to protest that the BID is largely duplicating services which are already paid for in their business rates - which they were promised would not be the case - resulted in court summonses being issued by Boston Borough Council with the threat of a fine and criminal record if they stood their ground.
The link between Boston Borough Council and Boston BID is a cozy one to say the least.
Not only does the council act as “enforcer” for levy payments, it has a considerable financial involvement with the BID.
It has also dumped a number of tasks which were the responsibility of the council - including the community “hub” project - for the BID to “manage” ... thereby saving money as the expense of the borough’s business community.
This allows the BID to claim that it is taking on external projects, when the truth is that without the borough’s support it would be seriously struggling.
So, basically, it is in the interest of Boston Borough Council for Boston BID to continue, which is why we expect no surprises when the Task and Finish group announces its deliberations.
We think it’s called “democracy in action!”

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Lonely hearts at Worst Street

join another club

Life must be a little lonely in Worst Street, as Boston Borough Council always seems to be “joining” something.
Recently the borough “joined together” (we love tautology) with all district councils in Lincolnshire to launch the first consultation of its kind with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Now, punters are told, “YOU can influence decisions” because the council has “joined up” (why can you never join down*?)  with East Midlands Empowerment Partnership and Urban Forum to run a programme called Bridging the Mismatch.
Even the title suggests that someone is having a struggle to make this sound interesting, but apparently the idea is “to assist Boston Borough Council in bringing about performance improvement to National Indicator 4 (NI4) – the percentage of people who feel that they can influence decisions in their local area – by embedding good practice in community empowerment.”
We’re sure that everyone will feel better once this objective has been achieved.
It will be done through a series of workshops where council staff will examine how they communicate the opportunities for local residents to influence decision making.
“This will be achieved by creating a sounding board made up of local residents trained as ‘communication champions’ to provide critical feedback and support. The programme seeks to identify and address any mismatch that might exist between how Boston Borough Council perceives their own efforts to give citizens a say and how local people perceive their own scope to influence,” the council tells us.
There then follows several hundred words of guffspeak which leads us to believe that most people will be unable even to understand what any of this is all about - yet alone play any meaningful role in it.
Critically, once you wade through all the waffle, you will see that there is really little if anything that will involve voters in having any real say about what the council does.
And that, of course, is the way the BBI (aka DRIP, the Distributor Road Independents Party) likes it.
Control is by a gang of eight called a cabinet, which by and large ignores the remaining ten party members except when telling them how to vote t steamroller their decisions past the opposition groups.
Look at how little business was on the agenda of last night’s full council meeting - nothing of any real importance - except a resolution to maintain the currently control mechanism with even more power to the leader after May next year.
Are we saying that any pretence at public consultation is nothing more than a meaningless cosmetic exercise?
You bet we are!

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*What's wrong with simply saying the council has "joined." The "ups" and "togethers" of it are unecessary, and also bad English

A new word joins the language

The dictionary is not short of synonyms for the word “cheek.”
It offers “audacity, boldness, brashness, brass, brazenness, chutzpah, confidence, disrespect, effrontery, gall, impertinence, impudence, insolence, lip, nerve, presumption, rudeness, sauce,” and “temerity.”
But somehow the list seems lacking, and we feel that another word should join this panoply of prose - “Austintacious.”
We know it’s only politics, the unbeautiful game, but the way that Councillor Richard “Papa Dick” Austin is dining out on the council’s improved status is sticking in other people’s throats rather than his own.
According to the borough’s press release, the report from the Audit Commission (see our blog here ) said the borough had gone from being one of the worst local authorities in the country to one of the most improved inside nine months.
Unquestionably, much of this improvement is down to the Chief Executive Richard Harbord and through him the borough staff, but that has not stopped Councillor Austin turning Mr Harbord’s racing cycle into a tandem.
The Beloved Leader was quick off the mark to write to the local papers about the achievement, and - in another letter - to launch a recruiting campaign for Boston Bypass Independent candidates at next June’s local elections.
But his latest step is one too far, according to critics.
It takes the form of a letter to all parish councillors, which in the opening paragraph says that the coalition government theme of “localism” means a greater future role for parish councils - and goes on to ask for ideas on how the borough’s 17 parishes can deliver a better, cheaper service.
But thereafter, the the remaining seven paragraphs of the letter - which is written on official borough notepaper - are little more than a party political broadcast on behalf of the Boston Bypass Independent Party ( aka DRIP - the Distributor Road Independent Party.)
This has particularly angered county, borough and parish councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, who has protested strongly to the Chief Executive about it, and demanded that another letter be issued to retract the first.
His attack on Councillor Austin includes phrases such as “glory seeking,” and “totally irresponsible,” and he calls the use of borough notepaper “not acceptable” and “deplorable.”
And in a masterpiece of restraint, he says that Councillor Austin “has clearly presented himself as something of a liability.”
Boston Eye couldn’t agree more, and we would like to know how often the leader has previously taken the opportunity to write to all the borough’s parish councillors in the past.
His letter is a blatant piece of propaganda, for which he is being rightly criticised.
However, the fact remains that the damage has been done, in that it is Councillor Austin who has scored the political points yet again.
Less than a week ago we warned the borough’s opposition parties - which comprise Conservatives, the Better Boston Group, and Independents including the BNP - that each time Councillor Austin’s letters appear in the papers, his party’s name is registered with voters.
So far, the other parties on Boston Borough Council are guilty of a deafening silence.
We need to hear their arguments, to read their manifestos, to be aware that there is an alternative to voting for the Bostoninnies.
Where are the local opposition group websites or blogs?
It is one thing rightly to protest when a politician pushes his luck - but fighting fire with fire is far more effective ... and there are only 220 days to go before the next local elections.

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Week ending Friday 24th September

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

What’s in a name? ... A dilemma facing the Bypass Independent Party is whether to rename themselves when they campaign in next May’s local government elections. As we are no longer going to get a bypass, they clearly have to drop the word from their title.That leaves the unlikely-to-materialise distributor road, which we suppose is better than nothing. Hmmm ... Distributor Road Independents Party - DRIP for short. It does have an apposite ring to it, doesn’t it?
What’s in a name- 2 ... The latest edition of Boston Borough Council’s electronic bulletin includes a number of interesting titles for officers. Despite being told that posts have been cut, we note jobs such as a “customer insight officer ,” an “IT principal strategic director” and a “partnerships and sustainability manager.” What on earth do these people do?
On a similar note ... We learn that the council will be the first to use a new chemical “DNA” property-marking system called SmartWater. The borough bulletin tells us that Boston’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, which includes Boston Borough Council’s Community Safety Team, have recently been “trained” on how to use the SmartWater kits. The bulletin goes on to tell us :- “SmartWater is a colourless liquid which is simply dabbed onto the uneven surfaces of valuables.” So what does the training involve ... other than wasting half a day’s work?
Dim view ... This is a genuine item, and a serious reminder in the unlikely event that anyone wants to access Boston Borough Council's website tomorrow. The supply may be down from 8am for up to nine hours during the installation of a voltage optimiser, which might save the borough around ten per cent a year on its electricity bill. We’re sure that you will be able to handle the disappointment.
Sad sack of the week award ... goes to the writer of a letter to the Boston Target who informs us that one day last week whilst waiting in “the chaos that has been the A16,” the queuing cars pulled over not once, but twice, to allow an emergency ambulance to go on its way. “I was so proud to be a Bostonian,” the writer proclaimed. We know that Boston has little to evoke pride, but if this is the best the writer can find, then its probably time to move elsewhere!
Going green with Mould ... A reader with a longer memory than ours tells us that the Boston Standard’s announcement a “trip down memory lane” feature with local historian Paul Mould is recycling an idea first made some years ago. Mr Mould’s contribution comes soon after the Standard announced the resurrection of the “Mess of the Month” feature that died a natural death and went completely unmourned. Soon, the Standard will consist of nothing more than telling us what happened years ago (there are already two pages dedicated to this) and giving away free food. Most readers, if asked, will confirm that more news would be a welcome addition to its pages.
Holy goalie ... If you’re among the sports fans wondering about the reasons behind the current run of success of Boston United, the following item on the BBC Lincolnshire “news” website may shed some light on the matter ... click on the photo to enlarge it ...

... the answer may be little short of miraculous.
Sod’s law ... It’s a fact of life that literals - as they call typographical errors in the trade - always crop up when your least expect or want them to - particularly when they are inapparopriate to the context of the piece.  IThat was exactly the case with this piece of misfortune struck the Boston Target ...

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading Boston Eye ....


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BBI has made Boston “laughing stock of the county”

Monday’s piece about the death knell sounding for Boston’s hopes of a “distributor” road (we never had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a bypass anyway) produced a cynical and stinging response from Better Boston Group Councillor Brian Rush.
He writes:- “Your article regarding ‘Independent’ Councillor Newell’s question about the prospects for a `Major` road improvement for Boston, should now finally convince each and every one of the BBI, that for three years they have not only been riding the wrong horse, they`ve not even been in the right race.
“Councillor Richard Austin and the ruling Boston Bypass Party has had the door firmly slammed in their faces by Lincolnshire County Council Executive for Highways William Webb (Conservative).
“Councillor Austin`s early explanations that he had sought and accepted advice that a distributor road ‘would be more easily delivered and equally effective,’ convincing him therefore to capitulate on the electoral promise to fight for a bypass, which, he claimed, was only aspirational anyway, everybody knew that!
“We are now informed that we are back again in a very long queue, with no commitment now even for a distributor road.
“Funds will now be spent providing Lincoln’s own road priority of an eastern bypass.
“Unfortunately it is the people of Boston Borough who put their faith in the BBI, expecting them to at least put up a fight to deliver, it is they who are the greatest losers of this political pantomime.
“If BBI councillors did not believe it before, they must surely believe it now, Councillors Austin, Jordan, and self-styled Conservative critic, Councillor R. Newell have shown themselves as political disasters.
“Since their rise to power our town`s prospects, and indeed reputation is now lower than ever before, we have become - no, they have made us - the laughing stock of the county.
“The blind loyalty of all BBI councillors, who guffawed at the warnings being made by us and others, and regularly rejoiced in booing suggestions made by my colleagues and myself, must now surely re-examine the folly of their actions and misguided support.
“No bypass, OK it may have been a big dream.
“But now, no distributor road either. That has to be the final embarrassment.
“Traffic wise, what has the BBI term of office given us?
“A cosmetic revamp of an historically dysfunctional road, fraught with immovable roundabouts, and so contained by buildings and barriers, that it is structurally impossible to meaningfully alter.
“Even if it does help reduce traffic build up, tho' I doubt it will, the effect will be short lived. How long before any advantage is swallowed up simply by the speed of natural growth of vehicle usage? We will soon be backed-up to where we started.
“BBI councillors should also look at the massive damage that is being done, in their name, to the infrastructure of Strait Bargate, by unsuitable and constant movements of buses, so casually accepted by them, despite protests and differing opinions offered.
“They were told long ago, to be wary of the paltry financial offerings of Lincolnshire County Council for ‘short term traffic improvements’. They preferred instead to believe Councillor Austin, saying, ‘accepting these improvements would assist in delivery of our long term aspirations.’
“Heralded as well by Lincoln ‘as a great gesture in recognition of Boston’s traffic chaos.`
Bunkum and Bunkum.
“That of course was a complete fudge, simply to avoid providing a realistic and practical traffic solution for our Town, and Councillor Austin jumped willingly into the sticky stuff.
“They refused to listen again when it was suggested that the ‘finance’ being provided will one day be thrown up in our faces, and be described as a very generous grand gesture by LCC for Boston.
“This finance would actually reduce the pressure on Lincoln to provide us with a proper solution.
“Well, on Friday 17th of September 2010 it happened ... no distributor road and a reminder that we had received 7.5 million quid of road improvements......
“I wonder what Councillor Webb (Conservative), was thinking as he responded to (Conservative Critic) ‘Independent’ Councillor R Newell`s request for a progress report on the issue of a bypass, oops ... distributor road?
“I wonder what 'Independent' Councillor Newell (Con. Basher) was thinking as he listened to (Conservative) Councillor Webb dismiss his request. Perhaps the Major thought he heard a bell toll.
“I am sure every Tory in the County will join me in calling out Dong! bloody Dong!


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It is "yo, ho, no" to Christmas lights?

Christmas in Boston could be a gloomy affair if what Boston Eye hears about provision of seasonal lights is true.
Way back in January Boston Borough Council raised an item at a meeting of Boston BID saying that the Council’s existing contract for Christmas lighting had expired and they were considering lease agreements in future at a cost of around £35,000.
The cunning plan was that the council would would throw in £25,000 saved by the ending of the existing contract towards the proposed new leasing agreement, and the missing £10,000 would come from the BID.
Initially, the BID liked the scheme but wanted to know what kind of lighting would be provided, where the lights would be located, and if it was possible to extend the areas covered.
But a month later, the council officer who initially raised the idea said that due to the proposed Market Place refurbishments it might be wise to put the Christmas lighting project on hold, and the BID board agreed.
So - are we in line for a gloomy Christmas? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, Boston Borough Council has met with Boston BID.
As a result, a cross party group has created yet another committee - to look into the many concerns and issues surrounding the Boston BID.
As we see it, the major concern is that the “members” of the BID have been compulsorily co-opted into the organisation and forced to pay a levy that by and large provides services that they are already paying for via their business rates.
We have to say that we doubt that the committee will find other than in favour of keeping the BID alive.
Boston BID now performs a number of jobs on behalf of the council.
It has taken on the management of the government funded project to mitigate the blight of empty shops in the town centre; is apparently running “Boston in Bloom;” is proposing producing a town centre map as a companion to the laughable business directory, and - according to February’s meeting - is investigating the possibility of running the Tourist Information Centre. And of course there was the council plan that we have just mentioned to get the BID to chip in for the Christmas lights.
Why wouldn’t Boston Borough Council want the BID to continue and flourish?
Each year it extracts £100,000 from the town’s traders under threat of legal action and a criminal record if they refuse to pay.
Over its the five year life the BID will extort half a million pounds, which is increasingly being spent on projects that are - or were previously -the responsibility of Boston Borough Council but for which the council does not have the money.
Expect no surprises when the council publishes its evaluation of Boston BID.

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Time for the real independents to come forward

Scarcely had the ink dried on the press release proclaiming that Boston Borough Council had pulled itself up by its bootstraps, than the council leader’s own quill was scratching out a missive of his own.
“Democracy in Boston was in a very poor state before the Boston Bypass Independents stood for election in 2007,” his nib’s nib sputtered.
He claimed that the BBI had “completed or advanced” some thirty*  issues in its manifesto, and continued: We are again determined that the electorate will have a meaningful election next May, and hope to field quality candidates in every ward.”
The letter ends by asking anyone who wishes Boston “to remain a democratic borough and wish to be considered as a candidate” to get in touch.
This latter invitation is the nearest that we have seen to asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.
But we are encouraged by the new policy of fielding “quality candidates” in every ward - even though it may disappoint some existing members who had hoped to seek re-election.
Aside from the fact that no-one in their right mind is likely to return sufficient BBI candidates for them to continue to control Boston Borough Council (we accept that some may have worked hard enough at ward level to merit a second term) Councillor Austin’s pathetic plea should act as a wake up call to the other members of Boston Borough Council.
Judging from the most recent items on their turgid and intermittent blog, the Bostninnies hope to win over local voters by sneering at the Tories and therefore winning votes by default - and we must say that there is no doubt in our mind that the Tories (and the Lib Dems for that matter) will struggle at next May’s local elections.
By then, the fallout from the horrendous cuts to be unveiled next month will well and truly have polluted the political atmosphere, and electors will take their revenge on the national parties the only way they can - by voting against them at local level.
What Boston needs now are true Independents - not the motley mob which currently bends the knee whenever its undemocratic leadership cracks the whip, and is independent in name only.
We have a few independents on Boston Borough Council, but we need more.
It’s also time for the Better Boston Group to nails its colours to the mast.
All it has at present is a name, which tells us nothing at all.
Unless its members plan to throw in the towel come May 5th next year - or seek re-election as individual independents - we need a manifesto from them .
Without one, this group - formed from a disaffected band of BBI councillors- runs a serious risk of vanishing without trace, having made no public impact in council, whatever they may be doing behind the scenes.
To paraphrase the philosopher Edmund Burke “All that is necessary for the triumph of the BBI is that good men and women do nothing.....” you know what we mean.
We need new independent candidates, alternative parties ... whatever it takes to ensure that we sack this useless bunch that currently struts our local political stage.

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* Thirty issues? Would someone please tell us what they are.

By-bye bypass

The traditional dramatic mask that combines comedy and tragedy perfectly sums up politicians as well as actors.
Almost without exception, anyone involved in politics says one thing and means another - and this was well demonstrated at Friday’s County Council meeting when the subject of Boston’s “bypass” came up in a question.
We put the word in quotes, because everyone by now agrees that Boston will never get a bypass as such. Even the members of the Boston Bypass Independents never now use the B-word, but instead settle for the D-word ... a “distributor” road.
So it was that Councillor Ramonde Newell , who represents Boston West at County Hall for the Independents rather than the BBI (the party for which he stood at election time, and which recalls Oscar Wilde’s line “my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country) asked the following question of Councillor William Webb, the county’s Executive Member for Highways:-
“In the second local transport plan the progression of a distributor road for Boston was identified as a longer term improvement. The electorate of Boston are concerned that with the expiry of the Local Plan 2 and the roll forwards of Local Transport Plan 3 that Boston could lose its distributor road improvement. They need assurance that such a loss will not occur. Can you give that assurance?”
At this point, Councillor Webb donned his actor’s mask.
“Yes I can confirm that LTP2, our second local transport plan, is shortly to be over and we shall be looking towards LTP3 - or if you like, son of LTP2 . Funding for highways schemes has to come from central government, or the majority for a major scheme has to come from central government.
“All of us are aware that funding for road schemes appears to be very tight in the future. Our priority in LTP3 – or LTP2+ – which we have prepared for next year will be the Lincoln eastern bypass, that’s our number one priority.
“However, there are other schemes which are mentioned in LTP2 which we will carry forward, one of which is a distributor road for Boston.
“But can I make the point that we are currently spending £7½ million pounds in the town of Boston to improve traffic flows. This is due to finish next year. Some of it is already in the process of being completed and this will make a marked difference to traffic flows in Boston, and we will have to see what monies are going to be available for us in the future to progress all the major schemes in the county that we would like to do.
“Up to now we have been able to get some indication of what money was available through the regional funding allocation, but this will not now be available in the way that we have known it in the past, and so we are going to have to talk directly, I suspect, with the Department of Transport rather than our colleagues in Nottingham who had a very clear indication of what was required and what was necessary within the whole of the East Midlands region.
“So I’m sorry to see the group on which we sat as active members in Nottingham disbanded. But at the same time, we will continue to push for the importance of an adequate and safe road network for the benefit of the economy and the benefit of the people of Lincolnshire.”
This is Polspeak at its easiest to interpret and unravel - even if Councillor Webb believes that his response twas cleverly couched so as to promise something when in fact the reverse was the case.
For the unversed, the phrase “can I make the point that we are currently spending £7½ million pounds in the town of Boston to improve traffic flows,” means “Boston has had its pay day and needn’t hold out the begging bowl for any more given the change of political climate.”
Similarly, the words “we will have to see what monies are going to be available for us in the future to progress all the major schemes in the county that we would like to do” means the same. Boston has had all the money it is going to get, and there are other, more deserving, places in the county who will benefit in the future.
Note, too, that at no point does Councillor Webb address the request for assurance that the distributor road will not be “lost.” He merely says that it will be "carried forward."
Our name is on a list of Premium Bond holders which is carried forward into the next draw every month. But we're not holding our breath until a cheque for 1million lands on the Boston Eye doormat.

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Weasel words on Boston's by-pass

Reading between the lines, it sounds as though Boston’s “distributor road” - the proposed alternative to the promise of a bypass which got the Boston Bypass Independents elected - isn't going to happen.
Yesterday’s meeting of Lincolnshire County Council heard the answer to a question from Independent Councillor Ramonde Newell fudged by William Webb, the county's Executive Member for Highways.
Read the exchange between the two men word for word in Monday’s Boston Eye and decide for yourself.

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Week ending 17th September

Our Friday miscellany
of the week's

news and events

Roll up, roll up ... So much still to be done, but you can rely on Boston's Cabinet of curiosities to cut to the chase when it comes to the big issues. On the agenda for their next meeting is the creation of an electronic “Roll of Achievement.” The idea is to “officially record the achievements made by people connected with Boston, as well as recording the valuable contributions that individuals make to the Borough.” As you might expect this will require the establishment of a Roll of Achievement Committee and the creation of an Achievement Controller. We wonder whose idea this was, and who might already preening to be the first on the list.
Smile, you're on candid camera ...  Lincolnshire County Council meets later this morning, and don’t forget that you can see and hear your local representatives as well as the people who make the big decisions “live” via the County Hall webcam. It’s always an interesting experience - particularly at a local level, when you have the chance to see who’s pulling their weight. We’re sorry to say that some of our county councillors have yet to speak - and we’re sure that the reason is not that nothing of local interest needs discussion.
Let’s get on with it ... We asked last week what had happened to the allocation of £12,000 of government money for window art to conceal the growing number of empty shops in Boston. One reason for for the question is because the latest survey by the Local Data Company entitled “A Gathering storm?” shows that the number of empty shops continues to increase in most centres but that the rate of increase is slowing. In East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Boston is rated 13th out of the twenty regional town centres in terms of empty shops. The report says that the figure of 8.3 is an increase of 0.62% in the past six months. In Lincolnshire, only Gainsborough and Lincoln appear above Boston in the list - but Lincoln is actually showing a reduction in the number of empty shops. It is a sad fact that Boston always seems to be high up on list of bad things, but not when it comes to the good. Whatever, we need that window art now. The money exists and has been allocated - so why is nothing being done?
What’s in a name? ... We note a subtle alteration in the nomenclature applied to Boston’s Chief Executive. No longer is he described as “Interim” - and in fact we are told that this is a deliberate change of status . His contract has been further extended until June next year - an interesting date, giving him time to train a whole new batch of “masters” once the voters show the Boston Bypass Independents the door.
Don't give up the day job ... Self styled “amateur” councillor Richard Lenton, pens a letter to the local press praising the Boston Bypass Independents for being “ahead of the game” in that they started making budget cuts three years before the coalition government demanded them. Strange. We thought the cuts were needed because the council inherited an almighty financial mess from the previous administration rather than through some miraculous piece of prescience. At least, that’s the story the BBI had been telling until now. Before that, the only person to adopt the mantra “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it” was Winston Churchill.
We’re all customers now ... The quote from the “Chairman” of Boston BID, in which he admitted that the organisation was guilty of failing to keep its “customers” informed produced an interesting reaction from one of our regular readers. He writes:- “The use of the word customer has become compulsory in public sector speak - an abuse of the word - and is now contagious according your Boston BID extract. The word customer denotes choice, doesn't it? I want to pay my taxes to an organisation which will charge less/give me a better service, which will negotiate the charge etc. I want to buy my road fund licence from a more competitive organisation. I want to be a passenger on a train. I want to be a patient in hospital. etc. etc. etc. I want to claim my benefits from a different organisation............but apparently we are all customers - no matter whether the money flows from us to them or them to us, no matter whether or not we have a choice. Oh! to be a customer where money flows from "them" to me. Whatever happened to the old expression "I'll take my custom elsewhere"?...............Where? Let's claim back our language!!” Call us old fashioned, but we couldn’t agree more!

In the dark ... An mysterious item keeps popping up on agendas of Boston Borough Council. It is denoted by the single word “Transformation.”

The only “transformation” we’ve heard of it that of human beings into vampires or werewolves. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the meetings are always held after dark!

It’s only English ... The Boston Standard maintains its disdain of the English dictionary with the headline below.

In the old days, sub editors always looked for the shortest words to keep headlines tight and to the point. Substituting the longer “passed” for the shorter, correct alternative is entertaining, to say the least.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Don't waste time ... waste rubbish!

Collection of green waste in Boston is under discussion tonight at a meeting of the borough’s Scrutiny Committee - and a report on the subject throws up some interesting statistics.
The idea is that the document will help the committee with information to decide whether to review the issue, and we have to say that we feel the answer is a foregone conclusion.
More than £200,000 a year in landfill disposal fees could be saved by collecting green waste separately .
Although Lincolnshire County Council would be the one to benefit as they pay all gate fees, Boston's recycling performance would increase from around 30% to 50%.
At present, the average amount of waste measured in kilograms per household is significantly higher than other authorities in Lincolnshire.
And Boston is the only Lincolnshire Council which collects green or garden waste as part of its green bin waste collection.
True, there is the summertime collection service from selected points around the borough, but to benefit from them you have to meet a narrow time corridor and have a means of transporting your green waste to your local collection point. And frankly it is a pretty feeble way of addressing such a serious problem.
It’s reckoned that in a full year, 30 per-cent of the contents of our green bins is garden waste.
Boston Eye can’t understand why this issue is following the usual talking shop approach so favoured by Boston Borough Council.
Just for once, let’s accept that there is a serious problem that needs addressing urgently - and simply get on with it.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Thoughts of chairman Steve on what a jolly good idea Boston BID is ...

Monday’s blog on the latest developments concerning Boston Business Improvement District prompted many calls from readers for more details of what was in the letter sent out to members.
The letter, from the BID’s unelected chairman - Steve Goulder of Oldrids - at least has the commonsense to tell readers that the recent AGM was not a very satisfactory meeting.
However, we disagree when he says it served little purpose other than to add to the confusion and misconception that surrounds the BID.
The people at the meeting were clear and unconfused about what they wished to see happen to Boston BID. They wanted it shutting down.
Mr Goulder tries to woo his audience by telling the reluctant BID members that they are all singing from the same hymn sheet. But he also makes the mistake of writing to them as though they were children.
“As I watched the meeting unfold before me I could not help but think that we actually all wanted the same thing and that if the BID were guilty of anything it was in its failure to let its customers know what they were getting or could expect to get for their money. I saw the faces of some as they realised that the Town Rangers are funded entirely by the levy and that if the BID were to fail the Rangers would go ‘how could they not know that?’ I thought and ‘what else have we not made them aware of?’
“‘We could pay for them ourselves" I heard. OK, but who would organise that I wondered, how would they manage to get the funds collected who would take it upon themselves to sign the contract and commit themselves to £60,000 a year and best of all if you divide the cost of the Rangers equally amongst the businesses it would cost £2 per week twice what most of the businesses in the room are paying already.”
Unfortunately, his argument then begins to fall apart with the admission “Yes it could be said that some of these things should be supplied by others but does anybody really think that if the Rangers were to disappear extra police officers would take their place or if the street cleaners were to go would Boston Borough Council suddenly increase the funding allocated to street cleaning to replace them? I suspect not.”
The fact is that services such as those provided by the Rangers, along with street cleaning, are already provided by organisations who are already paid by BID members through their business rates – which is something they were promised would not happen.
Mr Goulder further undermines his argument when he cites some of the so-called “achievements” of the BID to date.
Top of the list are the rangers – those seldom seen guardians of the town centre, who provide little if anything of a deterrent presence. Indeed, we understand that a lone ranger (forgive the pun) is forbidden to take any action if he encounters an anti-social incident. Elf 'n safety, don't cha know.
Then comes “supplemental” street cleaning. Whilst this apparently costs nothing to provide, it is again something that BID members are already paying for – and if the job is not being done adequately, then something is wrong with the system.
CCTV consultation is also on the list. “CCTV is operated by Boston Borough Council and may be at risk with further cost cutting measures to be undertaken. Benefit - the BID will campaign on your behalf to retain this valuable service.”
Then comes Market Place Refurbishment consultation. “Undertaken last year, the BID was involved in the planning stage.
A road works consultation hotline is in operation for BID members to report issues. In fact they seem to be going very well, and we doubt that there are many issues to report. But if there were, it would be the job of Lincolnshire County Council to provide such a service.
“Consultation” seems to be the BID’s mantra - it's apparently most of what they do.
Then there’s the “BID Crime Reduction Partnership” - which works with “various authorities” to reduce the level of crime in Boston - hard to prove the value of your role in something like that.
The Community Hub project is also something that the BID has staked a claim on. In fact it is a government-funded project which had nothing to do with the BID until the council opted to use the group as an errand boy. Incidentally, under the BID stewardship, the project was delayed for some considerable time. And as we asked the other day – where is the window art that is supposed to be disguising empty shops at a cost of £12,000?
We also note the BID’s involvement in “Boston in Bloom” – which appears to comprise patchy  clusters of scrub at different points around the town.
As we pointed out on Monday, the BID directory is a poorly assembled, inaccurate piece of nonsense – and now this pitiful organisation is planning to produce a map of the town.
Finally, the letter lists “Members Website Pages” - which will enable businesses to have a "presence" on the internet "at no cost."  Find it if you can … we couldn’t. And there is a cost - the unwanted cost of BID membership.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Al long last ... some good news

At last, there is some good news for Boston Borough Council.
A press release says that it has gone from being one of the worst local authorities in the country to one of the most improved inside nine months.
“Monumental efforts by staff have seen the council turn Audit Commission appraisals of its performance and improvement on their head,” it says.
Chief Executive Richard Harbord hailed the latest results as “outstanding” and thanked staff for their time and commitment, saying what had been achieved had been beyond his expectations.
We are told that this means that the threat of Government intervention has been lifted and there are no Audit Commission qualifications in any category, which are now all “adequate.” The council has received a completely clear Value For Money judgement.
“To move from where we were nine months ago to where we are now is excellent. It is virtually unheard of and means we are one of the most improved councils in the country this year,” Mr Harbord told staff.
The independent improvement board, which was formed to advise the council after the commission found the it was performing “poorly”, will continue in an advisory role until May.
Mr Harbord urged staff not to rest on their laurels.
“We are not now starting from a low point but we’ve a long way still to go. We need to carry on working to get better and better.”
Last year the Audit Commission recorded failings against the council and issued a damning report for Value For Money and use of resources. The council’s future hung in the balance with the ever-present threat of being taken over by Whitehall.
By the end of the year the threat of intervention had grown and warnings were being sounded that it would take years for things to improve.
Between January and March, when Audit Commission inspectors began their next examination, intense improvement activity took place, and Mr Harbord made a special plea for the result of those inspections to be the subject of a detailed report after the news that the Audit Commission inspectors’ work was to cease with immediate effect.
In answer to a key question:- Does the organisation promote and demonstrate the principles and values of good governance  the Auditor replies: “Yes. The council has clearly identified roles and responsibilities with further training being given to members and officers to improve understanding of governance. This has improved understanding, compliance and reduced actual breaches with no significant breaches having been identified. The Council has now introduced and applied the Partnership Governance Framework as a formal governance tool for all partnerships.”
Our congratulations to Mr Harbord and his staff.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested

Boston's main attraction is ... Cammacks!

Things are going from BID to worse in the battle to keep Boston’s Business Improvement district on the go.
At long last the letter which opponents thought would be their chance to debate a call to wind up  this useless organisation once and for all has emerged.
And, surprise, surprise, all it does is shed crocodile tears about the events that have brought the debate to this point and then asks members to provide feedback by answering four questions - 1: Do you think the BID has made a difference to Boston and if so what? 2: What specific issues would you like the BID to tackle? 3: How often do you have contact with the town rangers? and 4: The BID currently has two individuals tackling the daily litter that appears on the street. Has this made a difference to your business?
Note the absence of the question everyone wanted asking .... Do you think that Boston BID is a waste of your money and should be shut down forthwith?
As is so often the case with surveys of this sort, the answer is a foregone conclusion. In a few weeks we will be told that the BID has recognised that it was guilty of poor communication with its “customers” and that this will be put right. The members (who have no who have no choice in the matter, remember) will be told that this will be put right, and that in a few more months we will be left wondering what all the fuss was about. Victory by default.
We’ve seen it all before, and there is no way that the powers that be will allow the BID to be closed down.
In the meantime, the BID’s unelected chairman has been sent a petition with twelve signatures demanding a general meeting and declaring no confidence in the board of directors - as well as progressing the winding up of the company.
So for now, the BID sails serenely on, having at long last produced its much awaited business directory.
This 48 page glossy publication has arrived a little late in the day for something that claims to be a directory for 2010 - commonsense decrees that at this time of the year it would have been better labelled “Business Directory 2011 - much in the way that magazines appearing this month are billed as November’s issue.
In the booklet, the BID claims part credit for the useless Community Hub project, although it has really little, if anything by way of involvement.
It also appears to claim credit for the fishy looking Pescod Square graphic - which we seem to recall was in existence well before the BID came into being.
There is the a list of businesses ...in order of category, starting with butchers and bakers, followed by car, charity, financial, food, hair & beauty, health, “information” leisure (which includes pubs and Boston Conservative Club,) property, and then a catch-all called “retail” - this last including businesses which the directory apparently can’t be bothered to categorise, and which thus make the entire exercise completely pointless.
Equally unhelpful is the fact that - aside from the main headings - there is absolutely no attempt to put businesses in alphabetical order ... so your guess as to where to find them is as good as ours, and you must be prepared to spend some considerable time wading through the hundreds of businesses randomly listed before you find the one you want. That’s if they're all in there, or course, of which there is no guarantee.
Inside the back pages, Boston BID helpfully lists some of the town’s attractions, together with photographs.
They are the Maude Foster Windmill (perhaps they’ll spell it correctly in any future issues,) Church Street, Boston Stump, Pescod Hall (we’d question this one,as it’s a sandwich shop,) Shodfriars Hall (not open to the general public,) Fydell House, and ... that jewel in the crown of attractions - CAMMACKS.
What about the Guildhall?
Not there.
The BID’s next cunning plan is to look at a “mapping solution” for the town.
Local maps always used to be produced by the Borough Council, so if the BID goes ahead it will just be more busywork rather than coming up with something new and innovative.
Ironically, the BID has adopted the slogan “Putting Boston on the map.” But given their track record to date, if the business directory is anything to go by, all the map will do is help us to get lost - an idea the BID could also take on board.

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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Week ending 10th September

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

Coach these drivers ... Congratulations to Boston councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire on his campaign for better driving by Brylaine’s Into Town  bus drivers. Boston Eye has long pointed out the occasionally reckless habits in Strait Bargate, which some Brylaine drivers seem to consider their personal fiefdom where pedestrians are peasants who get in the way. We have warned in the past that there will be a serious accident sooner rather than later, and fervently hope that Councilor Singleton-McGuire’s timely intervention will make that threat recede.

On Target ... We’re grateful to the Boston Target for following our lead on the issue of secrecy within Boston Borough Council and using the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many matters are discussed behind closed doors. The answer shows a jaw-dropping 350% increase - from nine occasions in 2008/9 to thirty-one in 2009/10. The excuse offered for this is that the items discussed in secret concerned merging services, market testing and management structure, and that because some of them were discussed in more than one forum the number isn’t really as big as it appears. As excuses go, we would apply the word “flimsy” to this one. We remain convinced that many councillors like to discuss things in secret because they think that we, the punters, aren’t bright enough to be told what’s going on, and because it increases their sense of self-importance which in many cases is over-inflated already.
Nobody loves us ... We reckon the loneliest job in Boston at present must be staffing the new "Community Room." Every time we pass by the place is empty apart from the staff. Perhaps something more inviting than a load of posters about how to stop smoking might lure in a few visitors. Meanwhile we note that the “Community Hub” has been renamed “Room 52” - presumably to pull in more punters. Who dreams up this stuff?
Cor no graphic ... Which reminds us. When the pointless community rooms were mooted - as part of a £53,000 government grant to brighten up run-down shopping centres - the sum of £12,000 was allocated to provide graphics to decorate and therefore obscure the windows of dozens of empty shop at a cost of £12,000. Since then, we have acquired even more empty shops - but of the window art there is still no sign. So where’s the money?
Losing out again ...We hear that the East Midlands Development Agency plans budget cuts of £28 million in the next year - the last before it is closed down in 2012. A total of £10.4m will be taken from economic development budgets allocated to local authorities in the region, another £1m on attracting foreign firms to the East Midlands, and £138,000 earmarked for East Midlands tourism to promote the region to visitors and help the tourism industry with skills development. It seems to us that the place should be closed down forthwith rather than being allowed to continue wasting what money is left to little or no effect.
Get out of jail free ... We note that yet another prisoner is on the run from the so-called North Sea “Prison” Camp. This is the second in a month. We think that, preferably, security at the place should be improved - failing that a change of name to the North Sea Holiday Camp should be considered.
Do they really mean that? ... Quirky invitation of the week appears in the Boston Target, with a story that begins: “People with medical conditions and mobility issues in Boston are being urged to join their local vitality class before it closes for good.” What on earth would be the point of that, we wonder?
What a shower ... A brief downpour yesterday afternoon and a trip into town show yet again that the drains are too blocked to handle it. The picture below was captured in Pump Square - which may soon be in need of such a device.

Every time we spot a scene like this we will photograph and publish it in the hope that eventually, someone will resume responsibility for keeping the town’s drains and sewers flowing efficiently.
There are now enough areas prone to mini floods like this that in the event of some prolonged rainfall areas of Boston including Strait Bargate and the Pescod Centre could find themselves under several inches of water.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

War's over, Osama - we're bringing back the Party in the Park!

Later today, backbench MPs get a chance to take part in a debate called “UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan” - and Boston’s borough and county councillors are being asked to exert their influence on local MP Mark Simmonds to vote for the immediate withdrawal of British troops.
The call comes from Helen Sheridan-Shinn, on behalf of something called “Boston Stop the War.”
But we think that the argument she offers is a little bizarre, to to say the least.
Her e-mail says: “I am sure you will appreciate the significance of this issue to Boston, as the Coalition government’s cuts are having and will continue to have devastating effects on the budget at Boston Borough Council and Lincolnshire County Council now and for the rest of this Parliament, while the unpopular and unwinnable war in Afghanistan that could harm our national security is costing billions every year”
Mrs Sheridan-Shinn adds: “We are, of course, a local group of the National Stop the War coalition, and as such are not aligned to any political party.”
Nonetheless, with such a distinctive surname, the association with politics is inextricable, and Mrs Sheridan-Shinn will be well remembered as the other half of the Boston Liberal Democrat party.
So, in the unlikely event of the government suddenly pulling out of Afghanistan, where might those billions of saved pounds be spent?
First and foremost, we imagine, they would go towards reducing the nation’s massive overspend.
Last and leastmost, we imagine that little, if anything, would filter down to our part of Waterland, as seems implicit in Mrs Sheridan-Shinn’s e-mail to councillors.
And if it did, what might it be spent on?
Back in in the days when the  Lib Dems were in the business of losing elections for seats on the borough and county councils, their candidate, Mike Sheridan-Shinn, was very vocal on the matter of Boston Borough Council's budget - in particular the cancellation of the Party in the Park.
At one stage he even launched a petition which read: “ I/we the undersigned call on Boston borough council to reconsider its budgetary decision, and prioritise the funding of the party in the park above its commitment to free council staff car parking and the Princess Royal Sports Arena.”
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the war in Afghanistan, Britain has never been a country to run away. The conflict was begun to protect the nation from the threat of terrorism, and the idea of calling the whole thing off - not simply to save lives and end the terrible injuries being suffered by our heroic soldiers, but possibly to swell the coffers of Boston Borough Council which may then contingently see the re-introduction of a free concert - is laughable.
The argument for saving lives is sufficient in itself. We do not need the addition of such a ludicrous carrot if we wish to support the call to bring our troops home.

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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Taking things at leisure

The other day, we were talking about how things slip through the net, in the context of the call to close down Boston BID being fudged by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce with the hope that the problem will go away.
Another problem that appears to have slipped into the sidelines - although it will have to be resolved sooner rather than later - is the transfer of the borough’s sporting assets to the Company Leisure Connection.
Way back in July a report to Boston’s Cabinet of Curiosities stated: “Leisure Connection, in discussion, with the Government Actuaries Department have ascertained that certificate of pension board compliance is not yet available and the contract award is conditional on this matter.”
To date, we have heard nothing to the contrary,  and wonder if this means that the award of the contract - which is vital to the staff who will be sold out along with the sporting facilities -  has yet to be signed on the dotted line.
If so, we wonder what what the problems are, and also what the implications are for the borough’s budget.
Few savings figures were wafted around at the time - the only one we can recall being mentioned is a paltry £153,000 a year for the Geoff Moulder Leisure Pool ... but taxpayers have to fork out a small fortune to refurbish it before Leisure Connection will take it on.
The Princess Royal Sports Arena has already had all its debts paid to the tune of the thick end of £10 million.
Readers may recall that Leisure Connection, calls itself "the market leader of outsourced quality leisure, cultural and fitness services to local authorities.”
But as we have previously reported, many local authorities who have entrusted their sporting facilities to the company have come to bitterly regret the day.
However, what’s done is done.
But if the contract has still to be awarded - and if it had been, we would have expected an announcement from the council - then someone ought to start chasing things up as the delay must be costing taxpayer many thousands of pounds a month.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Do we need a special town committee?

The silly season on Boston Borough Council committee meetings has come to a close, and September opened with a whimper with a meeting of the Boston Town Area Committee.
The agenda was slightly iffy, with a number of verbal reports.
One was and “update on land owned by Network Rail” - which might have something to do with the much vaunted road improvements, and  if so ought to have appeared as a written report so that members of the public unable to attend the meeting might be able digest it.
There was also a verbal update on the Placecheck scheme - again, a major piece of spending on local improvements which the wider public ought to be able to access.
One of the few “real” items on the agenda was to offer approval for Boston Community Showcase Partnership to spend £359.19 on fifty steel fencing pins, five rolls of fencing and five reels of rope. Alternative options were not available as approval was given before the meeting.
Verbal updates at meeting seem increasingly common.
If nothing else, they guarantee keeping information away from the press and public in less draconian and obvious means than employing Section 100(A)(iv) of the Local Government Act 1972.
Let’s be honest - who in their right mind is going to attend or send a reporter to a meeting like this with an agenda that’s as dull as ditchwater, and about as interesting.
Which brings us on to a wider issue.
Do we really need gatherings such as the Boston Town Area Committee?
Looking at the last available set of minutes, the major items under discussion seem to relate to litter, and it must surely be possible to deal with items like this without the need for a full blooded meeting.
That meeting started at 6-30pm and ended an hour later. A total of eleven councillors and officers attended, and no doubt there were a couple more there as well.
That equates to more than a working day devoted to-  by and large  - discussing the replacement of a few litter bins. Surely this could be done without the need to sit around a table for an hour - somehow the approval for spending by the community showcase manage to gain approval without a meeting.
The other reason to challenge the need for the committee is quite basic.
How different, how worse off, would Boston be if there was no Boston Town Area Committee and its work was absorbed into other committees?
The answer, we suspect, is not a lot!

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

BID bosses drag their heels and hope the fuss will die down

It’s getting on for a couple of months since the highly-charged annual meeting of the Boston Business Improvement District at which the majority of those present demanded the winding up of the demonstrably useless organisation.
After an acrimonious debate, it was agreed to put the matter into the hands of Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce further to investigate public feeling about winding up the company - and when pushed it was agreed that an answer would be given within three months.
Since then the clock has been ticking - but little else has been happening.
Insiders tell us that the possibility of a vote on the future of the BID involving the Electoral Commission rather than using the back of a fag packet system which saw the creation of the organisation - has been pooh-poohed. Instead, the conspicuously useless Town Rangers are to act as postmen of, not a ballot, but what by all accounts sounds like a reissue of the BID business plan.
However, it appears that whilst it had been assumed that this job had been done, BID members have yet to receive anything - although jam is promised on tomorrow’s menu.
The Rangers’ ineptitude becomes more understandable when you learn that on a recent visit to Boston, the man from the Lincolnshire chamber’s pleasure at seeing one on patrol, (albeit in Pescod Square, which has its own security staff) was apparently marred when the ranger walked up to Wilkinson's security guards and handed them what looked like three tubes of smarties and some change!*
It appears that the BID has acquired a self-styled unelected chairman, and that the most the directors have done is to recognise that it needs to deliver on the promises made in the original business plan in order to provide real benefits to members.
According to minutes seen by Boston Eye, changes will be made “as appropriate” at the next general meeting - although none has yet been arranged. Interestingly. the directors have agreed that benefits need to be delivered and costs kept to a minimum so member’s contributions are used to better Boston and are not wasted on unnecessary admin.
Whilst it looks good on paper, it completely ignores the calls to disband the BID completely, and our suspicion that those in charge are now deliberately dragging their heels in the hope that the opposition will fade away and the status quo maintain.
According to local press reports, a number of Boston borough councillors attended the meeting where the calls to disband the BID were made, and we assume that their silence on the affair is an indication that they, too, would like to see the mixture as before. Why? Because the BID has become a useful organisation to take on jobs that the council should be doing, which saves the borough time and money, and whether they do it efficiently or not seems neither here nor there.
We hear that the next move by opponents of the BID will be to get 10 signatures and force another general meeting, and perhaps table a vote of no confidence in the board.
At least someone is on the side of the local businessmen who are tired of being taxed extra for jobs already charged for and who are fed up with seeing their money poured down the drain by a pointless and unnecessary organisation.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

*Since the Ranger was spotted playing errand boy for the Wilko patrol, a reader is offering a box of Thornton's chocolates as a prize for anyone who spots the rangers in the most unusual place. However, based on previous sightings, he will not accept reports of personal shopping, lurking down Hatters Lane having a fag, queuing at the Nationwide Building Society for more than an hour or chatting up the nice young lady at the Netto cafe!

Week ending 3rd September

Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
People in glass houses ... Former Labour Parliamentary candidate Paul Kenny fulminates against the Boston Bypass Independents in the debate over whether or not Boston should have an elected mayor. “Could you seriously recommend any of the BBIP councillors as a potential elected mayor as their record to date is a bunch of clueless amateurs running our council who are not taken seriously at local or national level,” he asks. We wonder how Mr Kenny would rate the mayoral chances of a man who at the past two general elections saw the Labour vote slump by 9.5% in 2005 and 11.1%this year. Worse still, in 1997, Labour’s then candidate polled 19,103 votes - just 650 votes, or  1.4% behind the Conservatives. This year Mr Kenny received just 8,899 votes - a stonking 12,426 behind the Tory incumbent - 28.8% adrift.
Open mouthed ... Meanwhile, the “Mouth of the Haven” - BBI councillor Ramonde Newell - is also in attack mode. This time his target is what he calls “greedy Tories,” - naming the party’s deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, Treasurer David Rowland and BHS magnate Sir Philip Green, all three of whom he finds guilty of taking extreme steps to protect their billions. As far as we’re concerned the biggest sin committed by Philip Green is his first name, and that of his daughter, Chloe - which makes them P Green and C Green respectively! Attacking the Tories is fine, and doubtless fashionable, but we have to wonder how a former teacher and army office voted at the last general election- unless his strong views forced him to abstain.
Don’t bank on it ... After our piece yesterday on paying council tax directly through the bank*, rather than via the tortuous and laborious route offered by Boston Borough Council's website, we received the following from a reader:- “The council does actually offer the chance to pay council tax by internet banking, they just do not like ratepayers using the system , as someone from the finance department has to go through the bank statements to pick up the payments. This is done often up to a month after the payment has entered the council bank account. The problem then occurs with the fact that the operative enters the date they are carrying out the operation rather than the date actually received. In the meantime the council have sent out reminders and threats of recovery, the rate payer then has to provide copies of bank statements and a letter from the bank stating that the money from was paid in. The council then claim the wrong reference has been used, as there is a space somewhere in the digits, then the next month there was no space where it should have been.
As you can probably guess I speak from experience, Just another case of incompetence and laziness on behalf of the staff at Boston Borough Council.”
Wrong arm of the law ... New figures obtained by the BBC show that at least 2,000 police officers were subject to three or more complaints by members of the public in the last year - and that Lincolnshire came third on the list of 43 forces with the most multiple complaints per officer ... after Northern Ireland and West Mercia. Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don’t. We complain that we never see the police on the streets of Lincolnshire, and when we do they’re roughing us up!
Doesn’t add up ... It seems as though our skills at calculating compound interest weren’t as good as we thought. A reader tells us: “Crudely £62.50 per month compounded over 45 years comes to c£650,000 at a 10% return. Reduce the return to 2.5% (still wishful thinking in the current climate) reduces the sum after 45 years to c£65,000. Judged by the past 45 years and based on earnings, the buying power of these sums should be divided by about 50 to bring them back to today's level. (£650,000 = £13,000 (a second-hand car?) and £65,000 = £1,300 (a holiday for one?) of buying power!” Our answer may have been wrong but the bottom lines isn’t as good as it might appear to have been.
Change of address ... At long last, we tracked down the website for the forthcoming Boston Community Showcase. It seems it was there all the time. The only problem had been that - surprise, surprise - the Boston Standard had got the address wrong!
It must be true ... Talking of which how about these two stories from this week’s locals?

The real value? Your guess is as good as ours, but as we’re talking T K Maxx here, we suspect the lower price to be correct.

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* It seems there are not good options here. Our piece was written after we discovered that a facility to pay through the bank was unavailable at Britain’s biggest bank - Lloyds/TSB. Our reader has the option at HSBC, the same bank the council use, which is probably why the option exists, but it seems that the council remains steadfastly determined to make the task as difficult and unpleasant as possible.

Taxing times if you pay online

Yesterday, we mentioned Boston Borough Council's obsession with surveys - or “consultations” as they prefer to call them.
The latest appears in the council’s online bulletin, and invites the punters’ views on the council's budget.
We hadn’t realised that balancing the council’s budget could be distilled into as few as five simple questions.
The first asks for our preferred method to increase the council’s income.
Then we can pick the best way to make savings followed by a rating system of council services, and lastly whether we would like council tax to rise or not.
This last is academic as council tax has already been frozen.
We think it’s ironic that our opinions on such an important issue as the financial running of our borough can be encapsulated in so few questions, when yesterday’s gay, lesbian etc., survey ran to no less than fifty questions.
We think that it has much to do with the fact that the council likes such surveys to fail through lack of interest.
In other words, in a couple of months it can tell us how few people have responded (this has happened before) and therefore dismiss any opinions that do not match those of the BBI ruling elite.
So few questions and options on finance make it possible to declare the survey inconclusive at the least, or to cherry pick the answers to come up with a preferred solution.
The last time this happened was with the survey on whether or not to have an elected mayor.
The input was too small to count in real terms - but it went the way the party bosses wanted, so it was possible firmly to declare a thumbs-down to the idea.
The borough is very ill at ease with the internet - and a particularly good example is with the payment of council tax.
To access the area of the borough’s website and pay your bill online involves almost twenty separate clicks of the mouse, and entering information into almost fifteen boxes.
The majority of Lincolnshire district councils make this service available through a individual’s bank account.
If you bank online, you can select your council and enter your account details, and thereafter simply enter the amount to pay, click - all is done and dusted.
Presumably, the reason Boston Borough Council doesn’t offer this facility to its taxpayers is because it prefers to receive payment by direct debit, and thinks that making any other method as complex and time consuming as possible will herd the punters in the direction that they was them to follow.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Another pointless survey packed with irrelevant questions

Perhaps we’re getting a bit past our sell by date.
We knew that a BLT was once regarded as an exotic snack, so we automatically assumed that an LGBT meant the same thing, but with gherkins.
How wrong can you be?
Apparently the initials stand for something quite different - the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - and Boston Borough Council has just announced the first-ever consultation with members of this community in conjunction with the county’s other district authorities.
Boston Borough Council is obsessed with surveys. This latest is the fourth in fewer than four weeks - we already have one for culture, another for community safety and in the latest borough bulletin a consultation on the budget.
The survey is anonymous, and respondents are assured that the information they provide will help identify any issues or needs surrounding service provision to the LGB&T community and be used to make a difference in local authority and police provision.
As a general rule, we regard surveys such as these as pointless, time-wasting wastes of money - and this one broadly confirms our belief.
Although we can recall little by way of crimes directed against the bacon, lettuce and ... whoops, sorry, the lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender community, it is important that its members feel as at home in Boston as anyone else.
But whether you voted in the last local and general elections, and if not, why not, seems to be a case of asking questions for their own sake.
Similarly, many of us have doubtless experienced symptoms such as stress, sleeplessness and depression regardless of our sexuality.
And we cannot for the life of us see the point of the question: “Have you disclosed to your local public service provider that you are LGBT (e.g. district council)? If no, please can you explain why?”
No one would dream of asking that question if the word “heterosexual ” was substituted for “LGBT” because there wouldn’t be any point
Similarly, what’s the point of asking about smoking and drinking habits and concerns, internet usage, faith or religion, and how efficient the council is at litter picking , refuse collection.
The survey runs to fifty questions - many of them totally irrelevant.
We have to ask whether - in these straitened times - the council can justify the cost of such a worthless questionnaire.
It is simply busy work - work for its own sake - that has neither point nor purpose.
But it is politically correct, which we are sure makes it very important indeed.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.