Hemsworth Town Council employs the services of a fully qualified (yes – real qualifications, not those made up by the Chair – Mr Kenyon) Town Clerk. He has a dual role as he is also the Responsible Financial Officer of the Council.
This is obviously a position with very real safeguarding responsibilities, to put it concisely, he has to advise the Councillors on the legality of any actions they are proposing to take, that they are within the remits of which the council is allowed to operate and the financial implications of their actions.
He is also responsible for the day to day running of the council to ensure Council policies are delivered and all legislation such as Health and Safety, Risk assessments, Fire procedures, proper financial procedures, and etcetera are in place and adhered to.
No Councillor is allowed to give any instructions or directions to any member of the workforce, even though Ferret has been informed of many occasions where the Chair – Mr Jim Kenyon has done this, he is simply not allowed to do so.
Some of Ferret’s readers may not be aware that Mr Draper was previously a Councillor at Hemsworth Town Council. This was at the time when all the false allegations of theft and corruption were alleged by Mr Kenyon. Ferret finds it very intriguing that when Mr Kenyon and his not so Independent party members took up office in 2019, that no action was taken against the Town Clerk, who according to them was part of the conspiracy.
As you know they even employed the services of a specialist forensic expert to try to prove the lies they had been spreading for years. Yet they took no action against a man that according to Mr Kenyon had been a part of that corrupt regime. If Mr Kenyon really believed his own lies should the Council:
Have suspended Mr Draper pending the outcome of such a serious investigation as would have been normal business practice?
Or given the fact that they didn’t, is it more likely Mr Kenyon knew what the outcome of the report would be, but still chose to spend £6000 of our money hoping it would take some time and then quietly go away?
Mr Kenyon then went on to bury the Report for 2 years and to this day, has not released it in full.
Fortunately the part released document disproves the allegations that were the main stay of Mr Kenyon’s Independent’s election manifestos against the previous councillors and administration.
Ferret is again intrigued by the contents of the redacted part, and has been thinking about what it could contain; especially given the reason cited by Hemsworth Town Council for being withheld, was that it was to do with Saul Construction Limited.
Could it be that the allegations Mr Kenyon made against Saul Construction Limited have been found to be false also and he wouldn’t want these being made public before the court case that Saul Construction Limited have taken out against Hemsworth Town Council begins next year?
Ferret doesn’t suppose it matters, Mr Kenyon is used to losing, and it’s only a lot more of our money down the drain.
Will we ever get a written response to our questions submitted to Independent Hemsworth Town Council and Mr Kenyon from the meeting held on 12 October 2021?
Very interesting and intriguing as you say Ferret, it seems like things are really unravelling around Kenyon and his co conspirators. The also raises the question, where has Mr Draper been while all this spending of a very dubious nature has been going on and also let’s see what his written advice has been to the council on all the issues that concern us. So if you ever do get round to printing the answers to the questions that are still outstanding, still make the first one Kenyon’s qualifications and at some point then let’s hear your side of the disasterous debacle
Isn’t that right Alan? asks J*mmy on a regular basis. I haven’t that information to hand replies Alan!… If a question arises at a meeting where the chairman cant think of a plausible answer, then…let me pass you over to the town clerk, is the response. Now is that the town clerk for Hemsworth or Thorpe Audlin?? Because Mr Draper is employed by BOTH councils! Seeing as Big Al is the main man in the running of things on a daily basis, I wonder if Thorpe Audlin is in a kerfuffle like Hemsworth is? Or in that parish is there a chairman and a panel of councillors who actually care about parishioners and not just themselves and their personal gain!
Has Kenyon ever told the truth about anything, it seems he’s gone from one disaster to another and never mind the consequences to others. Never learning, well he can’t if he’s always right I suppose. But are the other councillors idiots or what to keep going along with this sorry numpty. It’s never too late to start to say no and really question the motives and business sense of Kenyon.
Ferret has to wonder if Mr Draper was “knighted” into the realms of the not so Independent Party at the Top Hat?
Over 50k per year and he doesn’t know the answers? Ferret has to wonder if he does know the answers but if he gave them the true, legal answers they wouldn’t be able to carry on and Mr Kenyon would soon sack him. It would only be another tribunal and pay off for us to fund I suppose.
Maybe the famous quote “thieves stick together” would be fitting?
draper is an absolute spineless snake and and will do any thing that Kenyon tells him to.in fact i have heard him say myself that its not good to break the rules but its ok to bend them as far as it will go.
Mr Draper needs to learn what the words understanding, loyalty to staff and backbone mean.
he has openly lied during hearings and disciplinary matters and hearings against staff including statements he has written. please do not be fooled by this man. he is that far up the chairmans arse he can just grab a certain other employees feet.
Mr draper is an absolute snake. he needs to learn the meaning of the words backbone, loyalty to staff and compassion. i have heard him state myself that its it not good to break the rules but its ok to bent them to breaking point as well as you need to throw your principles out of the window in this job.
he has openly lied during disciplinary matters against staff both orally and in writing to suite Kenyons purpose and pleasure.
Please do not trust this man as he is that far up the chairmans backside he can just grab another certain employees feet.
My concerns are those reserves
Just over 300,000 down 200,000 since these sat in that council in 2019
What happens with this sauls of we lose we have to pay out if we win we have to pay out yet Kenyon clearly stated for his lift “WE HAVE RESERVES ” how does he expect to pay this sauls business if he spends those reserves
My worry is also that 1.7 million he keeps harping on about that we get from sauls
THAT ISNT OUR MONEY that is to pay the residual bodies it belongs to them not us
I have a horrible feeling Kenyon is going to refuse to pay them and we end up with another court case can you imagine it cos I can
Win lose or draw the precept payer is on an hiding to nothing whatever the outcome. Surely HTC can’t honestly believe that the one point million plus is owed to them what I wonder exactly is the crux of their argument. Costs can be costly for both sides and even if they win it doesn’t necessarily follow their costs in full or part will be awarded if the judge sees merits in the other sides case and they had no alternative than to seek redress. Have or did HTC seek a second barristers opinions on their case given the high stakes of such a venture it would have been prudent to do so. In the worst case scenario and it bankrupts us then individual councillor can be surcharged it has happened before that said if you’re a man of straw then there is nothing to gain from you so certain people need not worry
Exactly right! We should be able to see where this money has been spent and where they intend to spend it, regardless of any court case potential liabilities (which could be considerable – but I have no idea as I haven’t got a clue what is going on in this space, or why).
Our total Fixed Assets as at 31.3.20 were £4,395,796. During 20-21 these increased to £4,457,536. That’s an increase of just £61,740.
(NB. These figures do not include the Fitzwilliam Centre)
At the same time our funds in Reserves and Balances fell from £484,617 to £298,791
– a massive fall of £185,826!!
If this was during any normal year, it might be said that this additional money was spent on various running costs and charitable donations, but it was far from a normal year, our normal services were mostly closed as a result of the pandemic, so where did all this money go if not on increasing our Capital Asset Value?
Maybe another forensic investigation might reveal this?
Maybe the Ferret is already uncovering the reality of 20-21 spending?
20-21 accounts shows furlough paid to HTC and Grants were paid to HTC
Which wouldn’t normally happen so more money was available to HTC.
This is absolutely correct. Hemsworth Town Council actually benefited from Covid as they received more income as you state and the money draining bar was closed.
This gives me a head ache trying to figure out what he’s up too
I do believe that he will refuse to pay the residual bodies and we end up with an even bigger court case than this sauls one
When will wakefield step in and stop all this
Cathy, This is a good point also.
I’m not sure how many staff were actually on furlough but the staffing costs should have reduced substantially as a result of this.
However, the reduction to the annual staffing bill was only £65,000 – about a 10% fall on the previous year’s bill. A 10% discount doesn’t feel enough to me when at least 6 months (ie 50%) of the year the council’s services were closed.
I’m now even further confused. It doesn’t make sense!
Maybe Mr Simon Knee, Mr and Mrs Eccles accountant sorry I mean Hemsworth Town Council’s accountant could clear this up?
As we all know, our (independent?) Internal Auditor found nothing out of order in HTC’s 20-21 accounts – but I believe he undertook this role remotely, due to the unusual circumstances.
We also have our External Auditors overseeing the 20-21 accounts, who also signed them off with no concerns.
Alan Draper is the only person with an intimate knowledge of all the business and transactions which took place in 20-21, and how these were recorded. I suppose it’s up to the electorate to raise any concerns with Alan in the first instance. But to do this, we need to understand all the jigsaw pieces to highlight any anomalies.
Has anyone tried doing this yet?
AND
Mr Draper had the role of Responsible Financial Office when he was first recruited. As far as I’m aware, this is a role which needs to be assigned at the A nnual Town Council meeting each year, for it to be a legal delegation of duties.
Unfortunately, if this was assigned in this meeting (which I joined on-line but could hardly hear anything), it wasn’t recorded in the minutes. These minutes were subsequently approved without amendment, so stand as an accurate record.
So maybe, just maybe, all Mr Draper’s actions as Responsible Financial Officer are illegal?
the time for posting and requesting via F.O.I.A is over IT’S NOW THE TIME FOR ACTION IT’S TIME A P.O.A WAS PUT IN PLACE PLEASE B4 THEY LEAVE US TOTALLY BANKRUPT N ECCLESES GET THE WP
I don’t think Wakefield CAN actually do anything, HTC is accountable to us, the precept payers, not WDMC.
If HTC goes bust, WDMC can choose to step in and take over, but not before that.
You may well be right Lyn re Wakefield that said there are ways and means Fitzwilliam and Kinsley can leave Hemsworth. Currently as it stands both villages wishes can be ignored by the built in numerical advantage of Hemsworth councillors on the council this is an option some of us are now actively discussing the current set up of HTC is no longer fit for purpose it is solely Hemsworth centric
all sycophant porkers with their collective snouts embedded in king rat kenyon- walter mittys trough, non more so than the modern day bonnie n clyde eccles family fleecing n living off the community parasites lot of them