Put us down for

some of these jobs ...

Jobs seem to be making the headlines in Boston at the moment …
First there is the job sharing scheme under which the council’s recently appointed Director of Resources, Rob Barlow, will be dividing his working week equally between Boston Borough and East Lindsey District Council.
This is now being trumpeted by the borough as a brilliant money saving initiative. According to a press release (slavishly repeated in the local “newspapers”) savings of “around” £43,000 are being made in Boston - although the figure according to East Lindsey is £58,000 a year.
If a £15,000 higher difference constitutes “around” in council parlance, then it comes as no surprise that the borough is so far down Queer Street that it needs a map to find its way out.
Readers may recall that the news was broken by Boston Eye.
We took some stick for this, as it was felt by some of the great and the good within the authority that such negotiations should be kept confidential – in this case not only from Boston taxpayers, but also from other councillors.
In fact the information was in the public domain – in East Lindsey District Council agenda papers – although we hear that Boston Chief Executive Richard Harbord was miffed that East Lindsey opted to be open and transparent rather than follow the example so often set by his own authority.
Mr Barlow must scarcely can scarcely have got his feet on the desk before talks about sharing his job were underway, which leads us to a major unanswered question.
At the time the job was advertised , was it known that it would only command the post holder’s attention for half his working week?
If so, why was the vacancy filled when there must have been alternatives available.
If not, what has changed in a few short months that means the full time attention of one of the borough’s most senior and highly paid officers is now no longer required?
At the opposite end of the job market, Boston Borough Council’s website is advertising the post of a volunteer co-ordinator for the “Master Gardener” programme - “a vibrant network of volunteer ‘Master Gardeners’ who encourage and support people and communities to grow their own food … on newly established schemes at community sites, as well as in their own gardens, allotments, windowsills, etc.”
We guess that this is linked with the recent visit by Doctor David Bellamy to launch the “Grow2Eat” and “Cook4Life” initiative – which whilst it might improve people’s gardening and culinary skills will do little to help their grasp of language and spelling.
Who knows? Perhaps the produce from this latest waste of time and money will wind up on the tables at Boston’s next one - the proposed Healthy Eating Café, which now seems almost sure to inherit a chunk of the government cash allocated to improving the look of the town centre which appears to have conveniently gone unspent.
Finally, we note that Boston College is looking for a new principal, as the incumbent for the past six years – Sue Daley - is taking early retirement.
Apparently, the successful applicant to run the town’s premier school of hairdressing will need to demonstrate fourteen “competencies.”
And the salary?
Up to £115,000.
That’s £8,200 a competency.
Yes. We thought so too.

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