Tomorrow’s full meeting of Boston Borough Council has just four items on the agenda – and in a break with tradition is meeting on a Wednesday rather than a Monday night.

***

Conspiracy theorists might say that this is because that’s the same night that East Lindsey District Council usually meets – and that Worst Street is already showing the shape of things to come by bending the knee to Manby’s preferred meeting date.

Well, if they weren’t before, they probably will now.

***

Anyway, East Lindsey kicks off at 6-15pm and Boston 15 minutes later, and by the end of the evening both will have voted on the proposal to merge their services.

***

 Before Boston bites the bullet, there are a couple of other interesting items ahead of the top of the bill.

***

The first is a recommendation to extend the current mayor’s term of office by a year – and the other a bid to spare councillors from being sacked if they don’t attend a meeting every six months

***

The reason for the changes is given as the Covid-19 outbreak – and whilst the mayoral move makes some sense, the let-off for non-attendance doesn’t.

***

Certainly, it wouldn’t be fair to appoint a mayor for the current year, as the role will be seriously hampered by the pandemic restrictions, and there wouldn’t be much pleasure in holding the honour if all you can do is sit and rattle your chains.

***

And for the incumbent, – Anton Dani – a second year in office is just what the doctor ordered … as he was quoted last year as saying the first citizen didn’t get paid enough, should get his chauffeur-driven limo back and serve a four-year term rather than just one.

He was reported as saying: ….” The mayor should be portrayed to the public as a high figure who will do things to benefit the town.”

***

As we said, we can see the sense in this rule change – but not in the proposal to extend the non-attendance rule by three months.

***

The Local Government Act 1972 says that “If a member of a local authority fails, throughout a period of six consecutive months from the date of their last attendance, to attend any meeting … they will, unless the failure was due to some good reason approved by the authority before the expiry of that period, cease to be a member of the authority.”

***

The rule is seldom implemented – in Boston the last time was in 2013, when English Democrat councillor Elliott Fountain was removed from his Fenside seat and a by-election called.

***

And the coronavirus pandemic actually makes it easier to attend meetings in some ways.

The rules cover a councillor’s presence at any council committee or sub-committee or advisory committee, as well as attendance at a meeting of an outside body to which they were appointed – and attendance at virtual meetings during the pandemic is also acceptable.

***

Worst Street seems to have spent longer than other Lincolnshire districts in hibernation but is now stumbling along with its customary cack-handedness and conducting meetings online.

This particular full council meeting is obviously one that can and should be attended by all – especially, as there isn’t any need to leave the house to do so.

***

Even then – and despite a meeting hiatus – most councillors have a comfortable time margin before the six-month rule applies.

The largest group of laggards attended  their last meeting in January – which gives them a safety net until July – and attendance this week would re-stamp their passport until December, when it’s hoped that things will be much nearer normal.

***

As far as we can tell, just one councillor is at risk under the current law – former leader Aaron Spencer  ... whose online record shows that he last attended a meeting on 16^th December 2019 … so if for some reason he failed to turn up he would due for the chop next week unless the rules are bent for no really good reason

***

So, ‘turning up’ up’ is no big deal at the moment.

And all councillors should be there in any case – with the much discussed and highly contentious merger with East Lindsey on the agenda which, if approved, comes into force on 1^st July – just 40 days away

***

All councillors have taxpayer-funded iPad tablets which allow them to access remote webinar meetings. All they have to do is log in – there’s no need to speak, although a vote would be nice.

***

So, given the ease of participation and importance of the agenda, why change the law for a few months to accommodate anyone who might simply not be bothered to join the meeting?

Their only possible reason would be to avoid either opposing or abstaining on the merger issue – and anyone too chicken to nail their colours to the mast on something this important to the future of Boston should be considering their fitness to be a councillor in the first place.

***.

As it is, the likely marriage of the two districts could hit a stumbling block at the steps of the altar.

***

Anyone who has married in church recalls that heart-stilling moment when the priest declared: “If any person here knows of any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined together in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

***

Well, be prepared – because that might just happen

***

A recent addition to the documents on the agenda on Wednesday night are the minutes of the Chief Officer Employment Panel (COEP) held on 20^th May.

Although this was before the cabinet meeting that approved the merger on 27^th May it did not appear with the additional documents – nor at last week’s corporate and community scrutiny committee (CAC) … which voted to delay any decision for at least six months’ jaw-jaw.

***

If you don’t already know, the merger headline is that East Lindsey’s Chief Executive Rob Barlow would run both districts, with Boston’s Phil Drury – who has worked at Worst Street since he was in short pants – step aside … presumably with a handsome farewell settlement.

Mr Drury began his career with the council in 1983 as a youth trainee in the housing department. He left briefly, returning to the housing team and from 1992 held various senior management positions, becoming director in 2006 and becoming deputy chief executive around the same time.

***

The panel members – Councillors Richard Austin, Peter Bedford, Michael Cooper, Anne Dorrian, Paul Goodale, Martin Griggs and Paul Skinner “reached a consensus that the proposal in the report was not the preferred option.”

***

They went on: “The agreement for creating a strategic alliance should be considered in the first instance, involving scrutiny and public consultation, and then, if agreed, a national recruitment campaign undertaken to appoint a Chief Executive with the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to lead a joint authority.

“Whilst some members knew Mr. Barlow, others did not and the view was expressed that it was difficult to make such an important decision without having all the relevant information on which to base it. A meeting between the Panel and Mr. Barlow or having sight of his CV would have been helpful.”

***

The panel recommended tonight’s full council meeting of the full council not to progress Mr Barlow’s appointment as joint chief executive, nor the proposed arrangements to share two of Boston’s statutory officers with East Lindsey.

***

As well as that, there is a recommendation from the scrutiny committee to delay things for at least six months – so that everyone can have a good old natter about it.

***

That proposal came from Councillor Richard Austin, who appears to have brought the COEP thoughts with him to last week’s meeting of CAC, of which he is also a member.

***

The COEP recommendation read …

***

And the CAC meeting decided …

***

What's the difference?

Very.little – apart from a few words that will drag things out until either the plan is so watered down as to become not worth proceeding with or falls by the wayside.

***

As we’ve said before, if the meeting sees the merger plan approved sans amendment, it needs to have a decent majority.

Anything remotely borderline demonstrates a lack of faith and confidence among councillors that will not go down well with the taxpayers – for whose benefit this whole civic drama is being played out.

Nor does it send a clear message to the staff of both councils, who need to know that they have the support they need to make the whole thing work.

***

Interestingly we have heard from an East Lindsey councillor in the last couple of days, who e-mailed to say:

“I must agree with the findings of the Boston Community and Scrutiny panel.

We as members have been told that this proposal has been in discussion for almost 18 months, yet it only was introduced to members some three or four weeks ago.

“We are led to believe that the proposal, if passed, will commence from the 1^st July.

“What’s the rush? If this has taken upwards of 18 months to iron out, why have members only three weeks to think about the proposal?

At the ELDC. there’s been no scrutiny or members’ day to debate/discuss the matter.

“It has been suggested by the Chair of Scrutiny that we could scrutinise this matter once it has been proposed and passed.??????

“Surely this needs all debating prior to any full decision?

The BBC panel seem to have the right idea, let’s do all the ironing for at least six months prior to a decision being made.

“It concerns me that the Chief Executive has already been decided.

“Once again, is the proposed man for the job the right decision?

“There are so many anomalies that need answers before an open and transparent decision can be made.

“I am led to believe that it is a matter of urgency, due to the possible threat of decentralisation.

“However, this does not need to be rushed through, as unlike the proposal a number of years ago which needed 100% backing, in this instance it doesn’t.

“I personally believe this, in some quarters, is an empire-building opportunity.”

***

Finally, as we said earlier, the meeting is being held online, and if you want a ringside seat at the civic circus you can book one by clicking here 

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com

E– mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com

We are on Twitter – visit @eye_Boston