5 February (Part 4) - Girl power gone to their heads
It’s only a week since
the last General Purposes Committee meeting and there
has been insufficient time in which to report it in full. The main thing I
learned from it is that Bexley’s senior officers are not required to submit
evidence to justify their expenses.
In looking through the Agenda for the next meeting,
searching unsuccessfully for
the Old Farm sale, I noticed that there are big changes afoot in the Finance
Department. There is to be some sharing with Newham and Havering Councils
and Bexley’s Deputy Director of Finance is to be shown the door with a fat
cheque. John Peters was always very approachable and explained the situation
clearly if a little quietly at times. And he is a man.
Bexley Council’s report on the present and planned organisation has been summarised
(below) by the Finance Director, Alison Griffin, who came to Bexley from
Camden and has been doing her mistress’s bidding by slashing away at services
and recreational facilities for the past two years.
Hers was an ‘excellent appointment’ and it may well have been better than some but does the Finance Director have to
be quite so full of herself? Is there no humility in Watling Street? Silly question.
In accordance with Bexley’s democratic traditions, the public and press will be
excluded from next Wednesday’s meeting whenever it strays into anything financially interesting.