The Council is likely to abandon today one of the key opportunities available for local residents to influence their communities.
Ward Committee meetings are likely to be consigned to history. Instead residents who wish to question the Councils policies at local level will have only an annual forum meeting to attend.
Vandalised cycle stands in Front Street
The agendas for these meetings will not have a “have your say” section. As a result resident participation will be so restricted it is unlikely that anyone will bother to attend.
The lack of meetings is likely to be of less concern than the loss of the Ward Committee budgets which were used to address priorities voted on by local residents. The annual ballot has been scrapped. A very small budget (only 15% of the amount budgeted in 2010) will be available although it will be allocated by local Councillors without a ballot of residents views.
Rather than being spent directly on tangible improvements (such as off street car parking) “local voluntary groups” will be commissioned to do the work. If there are no local bodies with the skills or capacity to complete projects then they simply won’t get done.
There are hidden threats in the new process. The Council talks about local groups “taking on” local assets. This means the Council abandoning its responsibilities and handing youth centres and other public facilities over to local volunteers. It is a cost cutting exercise, which is likely to result in the closure of facilities.
The decision to scrap ward committees is due to be taken at a meeting later today
The new process involves a refresh of “community contracts” which have been in place in York for the last 15 years. They are largely anodyne documents which are too inflexible to address the real concerns of local residents. They notably fail to include objective measures by which service quality and performance can be judged.
Ironically, a separate Council committee also meets this week called the “community engagement task group”.
Set up to consider ways of involving residents in the democratic process, its interim report praises the participation of residents in setting local budgets
Ironically it is that resident participation which is now being jettisoned by the Council’s “Cabinet”