Wirral News readers’ letters: February 18 2009

Feb 18 2009 Birkenhead News

Council is wasting our money

I COULDN’T believe my eyes last week reading the one letter that I have seen defending the proposed closure of our libraries!

Maybe the writer earns the same obscene amount of money as Alan Stennard and has no use for libraries, as he can buy the whole of Waterstones if necessary!

Reading is the foundation of learning; not all children are fortunate enough to have parents able to help them with literacy.

Yes, I know schools are there to educate but sometimes pupils feel stupid asking for help in front of an entire class.

Going to their local library gives them a more personal approach.

Furthermore, if we are losing our libraries due to a shortage of money, I can think of many better ways to save. Firstly we should crop the wages of our directors, deputy directors and all the big earners beneath them, who quite frankly are not needed.

Secondly, when paying my exorbitant council tax, I expect to have libraries about for my children to use, I do not expect to be paying to sponsor a local football team.

Stop sponsoring Tranmere Rovers now! What is more important, resources for our children or sponsoring a football team?

Thirdly, the council could reduce its fuel bill dramatically by making it a sackable offence to leave an engine running in stationary council vehicles. Count how many you see each day with their engine ticking away.

Let’s stop wasting our council tax on things we don’t need and spend it on things we do!

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

via e-mail

Change needed

YOU could not invent it.

Page one (Wirral News, February 11) – 11 libraries closed and other cultural facilities transferred into community ownership.

Page 7 – Wirral Council earns finance award on being granted an improved rating for managing its finances by the Audit Commission.

Wirral has been living beyond our – ratepayers – means for years.

It builds the new Floral Pavilion, very nice indeed, but then goes on to decimate our libraries – hardly good housekeeping!

I am not certain that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat councillors would be any better but they deserve a chance.

Common sense dictates that in the present economic downturn Wirral will have to reduce staff, close departments, cap salaries etc as they would in a properly-run business to overcome financial problems.

The public sector cannot claim immunity from the UK’s economic problems.

D ROBERTS

via e-mail

Seeing stars

WHAT planet are Wirral’s Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders on?

Councillor Foulkes is over the moon about the Audit Commission awarding three stars “for the first time in our history”.

Cllr Holbrook claims that three stars is an endorsement of “hard work last year” and of the “very tough decisions we have had to make”. No it is not.

The audit covered the period April 2007 to March 2008 before the outcome of the dire Icelandic Bank investment was known and before the public revolt over the “strategic asset review” (which cost us £100,000 in consultants fees) now decimating our libraries and community centres.

Has Cllr Foulkes failed to notice that even before taking the above into account the Audit Commission downgraded the council from three to two stars on their arrangements “to ensure probity and propriety in the conduct of business”.

What should the Commission give Cllr Foulkes for “probity” next year, for the period April 2008 to March 2009?

Why not write to the Commission and give them your views.

DAVE GREGG

Spital

Library appeal

WITH regard to the closure of libraries, we in Greasby have been allowed to keep our library (paid for by our money of course).

However, I am anxious that we keep our own team of librarians.

I am sure that there are very excellent librarians across the borough but the staff in Greasby know the people here very well and we know them and appreciate all they do on our behalf.

So I am appealing to all the people of Greasby to write to the council to try and ensure that we keep the same team in Greasby Library.

I must stress that this letter has not been prompted by Greasby Library staff in any way, they are unaware of my intention to write.

S O’NEIL

Greasby

Lost and found

ON Tuesday evening I sat at my computer and opened Facebook to find a message from someone I didn’t know.

The message said something like “have you lost something?”

At first I thought it was weird and must be a wind-up but whenI checked I realised I had lost my purse. I was slightly panicked and kept looking.

I then returned to the message.

I replied and the person gave me an address, asking when I would call to pick it up.

It turned out it was all genuine – a lady had found her purse and her son looked me up on Facebook.

I am so humbled by this act and the ingenious way they found me.

I think we should hear about people like this more often in our local news.

PETRA CRAVEN

via www.wirralnews.co.uk

Friends’ worry

A FEW years ago the then Head of Libraries, Ian Coles, was encouraging “Friends of the Libraries” groups to be established in Wirral libraries.

These events have funded various pieces of furniture and equipment which has not had to be purchased through council finances. What will happen to these items?

Incidentally, the Friends groups and user groups were not given the courtesy of being told about the council’s plans to close libraries.

Last week I went into my local library computer suite and was told that there was no printer and no money to provide one.

I presume that Alan Stennard knows that to have state-of-the-art information and technology centres there has to be up-to-date equipment and that this presumably has been budgeted for.

I do hope that he is not planning for Friends groups to hold coffee mornings to provide this equipment!

EX-WIRRAL LIBRARIES STAFF

via e-mail

Fair on fares

ABOUT the campaign to reduce the tunnel fees.

I pay £55 a month to commute by rail to Liverpool – that is £1.30 per trip.

If the motorists are going to be subsidised to commute through the tunnel, then I want a subsidy as well.

If the motorists get a subsidy and I don’t, then I guess I will have to start using MY car as well – along with all the other rail and bus commuters.

Do you want to double the length of the queue in rush hour?

MICK KELLY

via e-mail

Jobs mystery

I AM surprised to see, after the confirmation of the cuts that the council has decided it must make to save money, that they are also this week advertising 12 job vacancies.

These offer total possible salaries of over £260,000, with titles such as “Quality and Performance Officer” and “ESF Participation Manager”. What is going on?

J POWELL

Thingwall