Ferret feels, that now the dust is settling or the whitewash is drying, whichever is more appropriate, it is time to relook at the way this whole debacle came about.
The fallout from this will rock this township for the foreseeable future.
It is quite obvious from the start that it was another “Kenyon cunning plan”, but when Ferret says quite obvious, it’s obviously not seen that way by some of the elected councillors at Hemsworth.
How the Cabal must have laughed and still be laughing at them.
Alarm bells should and could have been sounded at the Hemsworth Town Council meeting where Kenyon and Draper revealed the first signs of the plan when they mentioned not using a forensically trained auditor but a local accountant instead.
However, the meeting actually voted for a Forensic Audit and that is confirmed by the minutes of the meeting.
Not to be beaten, the relentless duo continued their campaign to overturn a legally binding decision of the Town Council by the backdoor.
Some councillors must be held complicit with this as they agreed to the council decision being ignored, without the authority or approval needed by the council.
This in itself is a very serious matter and a matter that should call for the resignations from office, paid or otherwise of all who supported it.
The Clerk to the Council should be fully aware of the limitations of his office and that he exceeded them in proceeding to find and engage a local firm of accountants in opposition and defiance to the Town Council decision.
Alan Draper has failed in his duty to the residents of this township on numerous occasions either by inactivity in the face obviously wrong doing by councillors, to the taking of action without authorisation when it suited his cabal councillors.
What Ferret can’t understand is why and how Councillors Moran and Middleton were not only taken in by Draper but actively supported him at times not only on this but other issues?
It is not as if concerns hadn’t been raised about the cabal and their activities.
Yet there has been no call for the suspension and investigation of Draper heard from the council chamber.
Ferret accepts that a councillors’ role is one that requires learning and continual learning with advice that should be sought from qualified independent sources.
Yet what happened, our councillors turned to Draper for advice and some hung on his every word despite or ignoring all the warning signs that were there.
Common sense went through the door, along with Draper’s principles that had been long gone; they even defended his role of being directly involved in the investigation!
So the outcome was plain for all to see, again common sense hadn’t played any part when they allowed Kenyon and Draper to divert away from a forensic audit and even more so when he was allowed to chose the accountant to investigate the complaints!
Naivety, due diligence or incompetence, call it what you may, doesn’t come any worse than that.
The Councillors were warned, but stated basically they knew best and listened with ears closed and minds made up and ploughed ahead.
Councillor Moran even enlisted Draper to try to sway the other councillors to their way of thinking.
Both Councillors Moran and Middleton are new to their roles, but again common sense did not appear to raise its head and the need seek independent and reliable advice.
They obviously knew it all or thought they did.
They could have sought advice from the Town Council’s advisors at any time, they could even have attended the citizen’s advice that the Town council actually pay for and run, but no they chose to listen to the people being investigated, time after time.
Let’s not forget they even reappointed the Eccles’ recommended internal auditor when they had the entire world of auditors to choose from.
There has been little or no reversal of any cabal policies or procedures even from last May, when the “good” councillors should have had enough votes to do so.
Ferret has never seen an investigative report that proffers excuses on behalf of those being investigated in the way this has or fails to deal with even one issue of concern raised by this community.
As one example, the assumption of use by the diggers beggars belief as does the selectively leaving out the large repair costs and extra insurance costs etc. that were nowhere to be seen or even mentioned when assumptions led to a break even figure.
Ferret finds their approach inconsistent, because it is believed it was none other than the former Chair and disgrace of a councillor, Jim Kenyon who raided the Lakeside till and took the missing £70 without leaving a receipt, but then again he should not even have his hands in there.
The accountants could have at least offered an excuse for this inexcusable conduct, sleep walking from Sam’s flat perhaps?
Ferret believes that the whole tone of the four page report was belittling to the members of this community, its contents unbelievably dismissive of the real issues.
Then again, they did mention twice that it was not a forensic investigation and they had informed our councillors of this from the very first meeting.
Passing the buck comes to mind but Ferret can’t disagree, they knew what was coming and placed the blame fairly and squarely back where it belongs to the councillors, while they laugh all the way to the bank with our money.
Hemsworth Town Council: The Non-Forensic Audit and the missing £70.
Perhaps when Kenyon wakes up he could return it?
The £70 is a drop in the ocean comers to what he has taken from the local community, the one he lives in!
It really beggars belief why they asked for a forensic auditor, voted for a forensic auditor, got the vote for a forensic audit, then went for a normal one. I remember Cllr Moran sitting at a council meeting explaining to the public that this would be better, that this would explain more, that the audit had already flagged up more than she thought, it had gone deeper than she originally thought, what did she think? Cos this audit that’s cost £1000’s has told us nothing! We have paid for nothing again. A waste if our time waiting, a waste of their time discussing and voting. Kenyon & Draper must be laughing.
The cabal are laughing all the way to the bank and at the idiots who believe their lies