Cubbard’s lightbulb moment – directly elected officials

Mike Cubbard is not happy. The Independent city councillor believes some unelected employees of Galway City Council are so incompetent, they make elected members look totally inadequate.

Or as Mike put it on social media: “This incompetance (sic) on their part makes us local area representatives look completly (sic) useless and I am not going to stand by and be ignored any longer.”

Leaving aside city councillors’ knack for making themselves look completely useless all by themselves, he does have a point.

Each councillor is given €10,000 every year under the Local Improvement Scheme. This money is to be used, as they see fit, on projects such as lighting, roads or footpaths in their area.

It’s pittance really, but it is disbursed democratically.

You could argue it’s buying a few votes, too, for each elected member doing the disbursing.

But the amounts are so small, the councillors are upsetting more voters because they are leaving their projects out than they are buttering up by giving certain projects money.

But back to Mike. In March, he submitted a request for his projects under LIS: speed ramps, wall repairs and improved lighting. But five months on, and he says he’s still waiting. Not a peep out of the Council; and no sign that they are to be completed.

Presumably, the people waiting for the speed ramps, wall repairs and improved lighting, are wondering about his promises, which has prompted him to go public. But Mike washed his hands of the delays, and pointed the blame at the door of City Hall officials.

He fumed: “My frustration is at the complete lack of response. I wonder if some within city hall had to run for election for their job would they be as slow in delivering!!”

Now there’s an idea. Elections for management positions on local authorities. Although, given the quality of the some of the people we vote in to elected positions, there’s no guarantee that elected officials would be any more competent than the unelected ones that are there now.

For more Bradley Bytes see this week’s Tribune here

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