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Friday 20 November 2009

Efficiency Drive

I understand that Brent Council's efficiency programme, designed to increase value for money by among other things reducing the number of managers, is being implemented by a team of 31 staff. 15 of them are workers, and the other 16 are managers, giving a manager:worker ratio of worse than one to one. Another efficiency triumph from Brent Liberal Democrats.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

As always the Liberals get everything wrong and we the council tax payers payers who have to deal with their crazy business decisions. As if we needed the facts illuminating any more than the pigs ear they made at Roundwood lodge. To upset a whole community just to prove a point and risk the success of the community cafe for what reason. Cllr Powney, you are pointing out to us the crazy of the Liberals, but what are you doing about their stupid community wrecking decisions when you are in full council. Surely there is something to be done to stop them from destroying our neigbourhoods and the status quo we have fought to preserve. I tell you plain there will be riots if Roundwood cafe closes. Do something positive to stop the Libs' by voting against their actions on the cafe.

Anonymous said...

I could cry, thinking of how much of our money the council have wasted. Despite waisting millions which have been wrung out out of our pockets and the vicious council and business rates thaf have been cruely imposed despite a pre election promise not to raise council tax. Like many other locals who see our high streets devastated by this reccession we are afraid to see the lights go out at roundwood lodge, as many of us can remember how souless the park was before the cafe opened.
It makes no sence to any of us to set the rent so high that they lose their tenant, we would prefer to earn less and keep the service provided here, after all can you name another park cafe in Brent, and the reason you cannot is because they have all gone. We say that we must take a long term view on the rent and give the cafe a new lease, and stop the riddiculous request from this awful Liberal council for back dated rent and a high rent going forward . I can remember the cafe closed down and vandalised , now look at the fantastic job that has been done there to maintain the building and provide such a wonderful service for our community. I notice on you blogs you discuss everything except the cafe issue, how long can the elephant in the room be ignored?
Alfred. Brent

Anonymous said...

Ahhhhhhhhh! This damned council, I am so angry I could strangle Paul Lorber for even dreaming he could lead Brent. There is a psychotic lunacy at play here and the devil only knows what they are trying to acheive at Roundwood Park, someone somewhere is holding a grudge and it feels very personal to me, as an impartial council does not have the energy to sustain this fight against this woman who runs the community cafe. She must have upset someone with too much power in Brent if they can instruct officers to pursue this woman with everything the council has. And to underline this point their are others in Brent who have been similarly persecuted. The sooner we are rid of Lorber and the clueless crew the better for us.

Anonymous said...

If we did not need anymore proof as to now out of touch the Liberal democrats really are than to see the mess they have made in negotiating a lease renewal for the cafe at Roundwood park, we have all taken for granted the service provided to our community by the cafe, and the short sighted self interested negotiations by the council have left the cafe on the edge of uncertainty, the whole of Brent is holding it's breath in fear that the owner, gives up the negotiations and simply walks away from the park, leaving behind the devastation we all fear. Brent have really ballsed up with her and she has been tenacious to keep going without breaking under the extreme pressure she has been placed under. When are the council going to wake up to the reality that the park will die and the area return to the bad old days of neglect and underuse it previously suffered from .
If these numpties in the council can't wake up to the facts of life then all we can do is hope that Mariaska is resillient enough to hang on till we evict the present ruling regime.

Leonard, Harlesden.

Anonymous said...

Why, oh why, do we have to lose the cafe, because of this blind
clueless council. To view a place like Roundwood lodge as a pounds and pence deal, shows just how out of touch the council really are with the electorate. Is it that they don't know, or is it they don't care. We who have lived on the edges of the cafe's positive influence have all benefitted from the calm that the current management have brought to our community. Have you strolled through the park, taking for granted that you are safe, and that you are not surrounded by vandalism and the threat of mugging. We pay our council taxes to be able to benefit from the services that payment provides. We have seen under this regime, the reduction of our services, our money lost in Icelandic banks , to our schools being underfunded. Our PCT in disarray and our pockets squeezed for evey last penny and nothing to show for it. This fool accountant who is running the council into the ground and destroying the soul of Brent and even threatening to lose our name altogether. All this, whilst our money is being spent on council officers and councillors, taking jaunts abroad on our money.
How many of us would like holidays in the south of France and America. And more excuses for the jaunts to justify the expence to our purse. How long can we tolerate their behavior with rebelling at the ballot.
We have a plain choice to get rid of them and fork out to make things right for the future with all that the Libl Dems have destroyed, of brent.

Steve,

Anonymous said...

Only a few months to go till we gets rid of these liberals. In the meantime wd could lose our cafe in the park whilst they are in power. Mr Powney what you doing to help them there at the cafe to survive under the liberals. We need our local councillors to get off dem backside and do something now before it's too late. It seems that we cannot rely on you labour guys and therefore we must ask Bertha to step up and do something for dem. Shame when there are so many labour councillors locally that non of you do anything positive on this matter. Sort it out and stop poncing about taking pictures of dumped stuff man. We know that stuff happens and will continue whist you charge poor people money they don't have to tek it away. Laquan

Anonymous said...

Herbert, from Harlesden

It is a disgrace and shame the way Brent is being managed now and that old timer like me cannot even recognise our lovely, mixed communities now, everything we fought to achieve is being undone, by the current incumbents.
Lets hope we can have a cafe in the park after they have finished their nonsense.

A pensioner always knows they can get a tea and a hot meal and a warm place to sit in winter, when the cafe is there.
I remember it under the last chappie a vandalised shack, and then empty for a couple of years before the woman took it on.

I hope she manages to win her case against these God awful Liberal Demoncrats, and continues to provide a service for another 10 years.

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