Is BTAC becoming v.tacky? And do we need a separate town council?

The more we think about it, the more the suggestion of a separate town council for Boston appeals to us.

The idea was raised at the beginning of the year in a letter to the local papers from a reader hoping to organise a petition to establish an independent authority to replace BTAC – the Boston Town Area Committee – which is supposedly a parish council for town wards. He said he thought a new council would bring the town in line with villages in the borough which have their own parish councils.
That was back in January, at which time council leader Peter Bedford - not surprisingly - said he thought that BTAC fulfilled the role of the parish council satisfactorily.
“BTAC has its own precept and budget, so it is probably very close to what is being proposed. There would be a cost implication to setting up another separate town council, and I am sure borough council taxpayers would not want to pick up that bill.”
Since then the issue has been pursued by Boston Borough Council’s Labour politicians, both within the chamber and on their website.
At last week’s council meeting, Councillor Paul Goodale, who represents Staniland North said: “Over the last year I have found portfolio holders are using the BTAC budget as an extension of the borough council’s budget, for what are, effectively, borough council responsibilities.”
He said he thought a number of committee matters had already been decided prior to meetings – something that was strenuously denied by BTAC Chairman Councillor Mike Gilbert.
Labour was even more scathing on its website, claiming that over the last ten months BTAC has been “taken over” by the Cabinet and the Conservative group “who just seem to run it as an extension to their budget …
The party said the idea of a town council was voted down last week “because the members of the Conservative group - both rural and urban – voted as a block against this proposal. Would the rural councillors like the town councillors running their affairs? We think not!”
BTAC has 16 members and a budget of more than £80,000 a year.
Given that its membership comprises councillors from town wards, it is co-incidental rather than political that the Tories have a majority on the committee – but it is nonetheless convenient for our so-called “leaders.”
However, we can understand the concerns being raised about the committee being an extension of the Cabinet and other Conservative interests.
Under the council constitution, BTAC’s role  is specified as one that should reflect and represent the views of the town wards and residents and the only items which can legally be charged are those provided exclusively or mainly for its residents. If the wider population use facilities, then they should be paid for from the borough council, not the committee’s budget.
Until recently, BTAC took this remit so seriously that when a local association applied for a £1,000 grant, the amount was reduced substantially after the committee demanded a breakdown of members by address – and offered funding pro-rata solely to those living in town wards.
But questions have arisen after BTAC agreed to give £5,000 towards this year’s Boston Community Showcase – which is clearly a borough-wide event.
And it has also stumped up another £5,000 for the Diamond Jubilee bash in Central Park – although the council somewhat naively has tried to persuade us that this will be an event solely for the enjoyment of townspeople.
If it is not the case that the Tories are milking BTAC’s, budget, then the committee needs a firm reminder of how it is supposed to spend our money.
There are many areas of the town that would benefit from spending on improvements - and to blow £10,000 on two events in the park, a further £10,000 on the so-called Jubilee Garden and earmark at least £20,000 on a skateboard park in just one ward simply does not seem equitable.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com