Wasting Taxpayers’ Money

Jan 7 2010 West Lothian Courier

AS an employee of the WLCC based at the all-singing all-dancing £50million plus Civic Centre who, like most people, pay my tax, council tax and road tax, but find that for the second week running cannot safely use the side and estate roads or footpaths throughout West Lothian.

The new building is supposed to bring together all the partner services to allow more efficient service provision and cost cutting, for the benefit of the community, but the cold snap of the recent period has shown already what a waste of taxpayers’ money this luxury project is turning out to be.

Weather forecasters predicted the oncoming arrival of the conditions we are suffering, but it would appear the departments responsible for putting grit etc into place were still too far apart to liaise and come up with a workable plan to prevent the road-clearing issues and spin-offs such as late mail deliveries, refuse collections and providing safe footways for the elderly, infirm, workers with travel problems and general safety of the taxpaying public.

I work in the building, but live locally and still have great difficulty walking to work as the footpaths are ice and snowbound and stairways resemble ski slopes, because of the build up of untreated snow and ice.

Is it not time for national and local government to own up to their errors in planning and stocking up of the resources needed to ensure people can go about their normal and working life without the dangers and inconvenience their shortcomings have caused?

They should also consider a reduction or refund of taxes to compensate for the difficulty and hardship being caused to so many by the failings of so few.

We, the taxpayers, are told repeatedly that we must pay for services provided; does that include plush new surroundings for the people who have failed us all so miserably over this festive period.

As a footnote to my past observations I am currently employed as a lowly paid security officer sub-contracted to the council, who has not missed a rota shift during the cold spell, who cannot really afford to pay for sub standard services, increased fuel bills etc whilst our elected members continue to be paid handsomely for providing a shoddy standard of service.

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