by David Skentelbery
A ROW has flared over an anonymous email believed to have been sent to every member of Warrington Borough Council.
The email - purporting to be from a council employee - claims Town Hall bosses are planning to outsource the building control and development control services of the council to a private company.
The writer describes the move as "a shortsighted attempt to save money"
He - or she - says it would mean employees of the council would be forced to transfer to a private company which would provide the services to the council on a "for profit" basis.
The email states: "It seems to be management's view that this will result in a significant cost saving to the council, but it would undoubtedly not be good for the employees or for the services we provide."
Warrington borough council, in common with other authorities across the country, is experiencing a decline in income from planning applications, due to the recession.
But the email writer accused the council of a "knee jerk" reaction and says no other alternatives appear to being considered.
"It has even been suggested that such a drastic change could be in place by April 2010.
"Nobody appears to be looking at alternatives, such as restructures, which would undoubtedly help to reduce the overall cost base of the service."
The writer says the number of managers in the development control department could easily be halved to reduce costs.
"This will be the first thing any private company will do anyway if the service is outsourced."
The writer predicts either pay cuts or staff cuts if outsourcing goes ahead with a loss of the goodwill which the council relies on from its staff.
The email ends with an appeal to councillors to help defeat the plan.
Council leader Ian Marks responded angrily.
He said: "All councils are looking at ways of providing services more efficiently - the government is encouraging us to do so. But no decision has been made - in fact we are miles from any decision.
"We already providing a joint Trading Standards service with Halton, which is working very well. We are working with NHS Warrington and have set up a joint commission board with them. We are constantly searching for ways of increasing efficiency.
"This is just mischief making and the email contains a lot that just is not true."
The email - purporting to be from a council employee - claims Town Hall bosses are planning to outsource the building control and development control services of the council to a private company.
The writer describes the move as "a shortsighted attempt to save money"
He - or she - says it would mean employees of the council would be forced to transfer to a private company which would provide the services to the council on a "for profit" basis.
The email states: "It seems to be management's view that this will result in a significant cost saving to the council, but it would undoubtedly not be good for the employees or for the services we provide."
Warrington borough council, in common with other authorities across the country, is experiencing a decline in income from planning applications, due to the recession.
But the email writer accused the council of a "knee jerk" reaction and says no other alternatives appear to being considered.
"It has even been suggested that such a drastic change could be in place by April 2010.
"Nobody appears to be looking at alternatives, such as restructures, which would undoubtedly help to reduce the overall cost base of the service."
The writer says the number of managers in the development control department could easily be halved to reduce costs.
"This will be the first thing any private company will do anyway if the service is outsourced."
The writer predicts either pay cuts or staff cuts if outsourcing goes ahead with a loss of the goodwill which the council relies on from its staff.
The email ends with an appeal to councillors to help defeat the plan.
Council leader Ian Marks responded angrily.
He said: "All councils are looking at ways of providing services more efficiently - the government is encouraging us to do so. But no decision has been made - in fact we are miles from any decision.
"We already providing a joint Trading Standards service with Halton, which is working very well. We are working with NHS Warrington and have set up a joint commission board with them. We are constantly searching for ways of increasing efficiency.
"This is just mischief making and the email contains a lot that just is not true."
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7 Responses to "Council row over anonymous email" 
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 9:00:14 AM BST
Cllr Marks said:"This is just mischief making and the email contains a lot that just is not true."
....but probably contains even more that IS true!
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 9:43:06 AM BST
If it wil reduce the number of jobsworths in highly paid positions and therefore reduce my Council Tax bill then the council have my full support. A better response from Marks would have been " .We are constantly searching for ways of increasing efficiency without success but it is unfortunate that news of our first success is leaked this way.
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 10:59:55 AM BST
I work for the Council and I've not had any such email?
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 3:46:28 PM BST
Having worked in a section and with employees throughout the council where professional, dedicated and under resourced staff worked tirelessly to give value and a cost effective service to the WBC and save the public of Warrington money, that any threat of redundancies must seem a kick in the teeth, staff understand no organisation big or small is immune in the current economic climate however I am sure that yet another restructure at the WBC to save money will not make any difference, what people are leaving are not being replaced, leaving the employees that remain with more work, pressure, low morale with the added insult of possible lower pay, this can only lead to a lower quality of service that the public of Warrington do not deserve, in the guise then of outsourcing work because the current work force cannot cope with the demand.
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 5:03:25 PM BST
Mike, your post is funnier than a Monty Python sketch.
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said this on 17 Jul 2009 5:54:24 PM BST
Tilly, it was sent to Members rather than Officers, indeed I was a recipient and it made interesting reading.
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