Sunday 18 October 2009

Something to hide?


On 19th May 2009, Don’t Call Me Dave asked Barnet Council for a copy of the spreadsheet detailing the allowances paid to our hard working and well beloved councillors.

This year the spreadsheet came with a warning because some councillors had indicated that they were not going to accept the increase they had voted for themselves. The council promised to provide the corrected spreadsheet as soon as it was available.

Five months and several reminders later, DCMD is still waiting. The law says FOI requests should be answered within 20 working days.

Telling the public how much councillors are paid is never going to be a priority for this obsessively secretive council, but it is hard not to form the opinion that the information is being deliberately withheld.

Perhaps some of the councillors who publicly announced that they were not going to stick their snouts any deeper into the trough have had second thoughts and are now claiming the money? We have a right to know.

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