Christmas carousel vs open air bar battle – Debate on 8th October

York Christmas Carousel

Petitions containing over 2000 signatures supporting the retention of the Christmas children’s carousel ride in the Parliament Street area will be presented to the next York Council meeting on 8th October.

Tipi bar

The “on line” version of the petition has now closed.

Separately Make it York have announced details of the public bar which will replace the children’s attraction.

The issues relating to Make it York’s attitude to public consultation are also likely to be discussed at a “Shareholders” meeting taking place on 5th October.

This was the meeting which was supposed to have been held in public but for which the Council has so far failed to publish an agenda.

York Council provides more information on petitions, public health restructure & busking

The Council has now changed its links so you can see how they will deal with petitions. Click here
You can now also access information on the Council public health restructure by clicking here
Ditto busking guidelines click here

Street drinking and green waste collection petitions to be considered by Council

The Council has announced the dates on which two petitions from residents will be considered.

A petition asking for action to control street drinking in The Groves area is slated for consideration on 17^th March

A petition opposing the reduction on winter green bin emptying frequencies will be considered on 18^th March

Meanwhile opposition to Labour’s plans to reduce grey bin emptying frequencies to 3 or 4 weekly is growing.

Many residents have also emailed us to say that they believe that the £35 a year charge that Labour have agreed for emptying any green bin, will lead to more hedgerow dumping.

York Council petitions update

The York Council is to consider an update on 10 petitions received from residents at a meeting taking place on 12^th January.

They concern:

Burton Stone community centre future unclear

Speeding on Peter Hill Drive
Future of Burton Stone Community Centre (2)
Installation of speed humps on South Bank Avenue
Objections to development site H30 (Local Plan)
Need for 20 mph speed limit on Walmgate/Navigation Road
Future on York Deaf Society
Future of Youth Advice Centre in Castlegate
Winter Green Waste collection
Future of Groves Chapel
Objections to plans to build on Earswick Green Belt (Local Plan)
Request for Residents Only parking in Nunthorpe Grove
Road safety in Strensall
Future of Yearsley Pool
Travellers site fees

For more details click here

Petitioners are able to attend the meeting and speak in support of their petition.

The Council has changed the way that it now deals with residents petitions.

The new system involves reports being made to a public Council scrutiny committee.

It is much more transparent than the old system where petitions handed to Council often disappeared from public view for months and sometimes years.

York Council to water down petitions action – “smile you’re on……”

The Council is being asked to abandon the right citizens currently have to hold highly paid officials to account.

A proposal to the “Audit Committee” says that senior officials should not in future have to attend a meeting to answers questions raised about their management responsibilities.

York residents petition

The existing petitions scheme (agreed in 2010) contains the following clause:

If your petition contains at least 500 signatures, you may ask for a senior council officer to give evidence at a public meeting about something for which the officer is responsible as part of their job. For example, your petition may ask a senior council officer to explain progress on an issue, or to explain the advice given to elected members to enable them to make a particular decision. The following senior staff can be called to account:
• Chief Executive
• Chief Finance Officer
• Monitoring Officer
• Directors of Service

A report, drafted by the Council’s monitoring officer, suggests abandoning this right.

Cabinet members also escape any requirement to explain their actions to taxpayers.

There are currently 5 live petitions running on the Councils web site.

The last Council meeting discussed a record number of petitions (7) submitted by residents and which had passed the 1000 signature threshold which guaranteed a discussion at a full Council meeting.. Most concerned the controversial aspects of Labour draft Local Plan.

—————————–

The same meeting – which is taking place next Wednesday -is set to approve a “protocol” for web casting of Cabinet and Council meetings.

Sadly the report makes no reference to the costs of such a proposal nor does it indicate how many “viewers” the trial broadcasts have attracted (understood to be derisory)

The key issue is whether a casual viewer would be able to follow what was actually taking place at a Council meeting. Even those sitting in the public gallery, with an agenda in front of them, some times struggle to work out what is going on.

The Council need to further develop the information that can be provided possibly using a split screen format. It is just possible that, if residents could see the relevant agenda item papers, together with the way that individual Councillors vote on each issue, more interest might be generated.

The trial web casting of “Cabinet” meetings has attracted very little interest. The meeting consist only of a dull procession of uninspired speeches from Labour Councillors. (It is a one party meeting).

A Council meeting offers more opportunity for debate on important issues but it will require much better organisation than has been evident on York Council governance issues over recent months.