The occasional S.O.D. (Sound bite Of the Day)
Friday, January 09, 2009
Parking still not fine in Camden ... when will the truth come out?
We
expect more whistleblowing and revelations soon. Will be interesting to
know how 'aware' the council has been with regard to the unlawful
restrictions it has been enforcing whilst embarking on the programme of
corrections.
Hats off to Richard Osley at the Camden New Journal for the story below
...
Six
months on the meter, and the man brought in to make parking fairer for
motorists has gone‘Errors of judgement’ claim as
parking department’s star signing exits the Town Hall
Surely this part is “bought in to make
parking fairer for council motorists.”
THE Town Hall last night (Wednesday) claimed a parking chief appointed
to make Camden’s flagging parking system fairer had made
“errors
of judgement”. That's what Fraud is called
now, never mind so long as
HE can smile about it eh?.
In an unexpected move, John Meyer left the council service in the final
working week before Christmas – just two months after a New
Journal investigation into the council’s much-maligned warden
service.Mr Meyer had previously been expected to keep the post of
interim parking manager until the summer at least. But his contract has
not been renewed and he cleared his desk on the Friday before the
festive break.
The Town Hall said there had been actions “not
compatible with the public
profile of the
post”.
Suggestion: 1 - “IN TOTAL BREACH OF AND ULTRA VIRES to his duty of care under the fabulous code of conduct that sins and spins visions of integrity, honesty, respect, and being FULLY compLIARnt with the Law....and the public profile of the post”
Suggestion: 2 - “IN TOTAL BREACH OF AND ULTRA VIRES to his duty of care under the fabulous code of conduct that sins and spins visions of integrity, honesty, respect, and being FULLY compLIARnt with the Law....and that should have been in the PRIVATE profile of the post”
It
has been said that “They make up history as if we lived under
STALIN.”
Officials confirmed that Borough Solicitor Andrew Maughan was last
month asked to investigate anonymous
(ooohhh!)allegations
that Mr Meyer had awarded himself (new phrase for disabled
badge theft?) a permit allowing him
to park on yellow lines and in residents’ bays across Camden
– although it did
not lead to any disciplinary action. (aaahhh!) Why not make it
“Borough Solicitor SIR. Andrew Maughan”
A spokeswoman said: “We investigated the allegation. It
identified some minor issues
but the investigation is closed and no disciplinary action was taken.”As
a matter of course, Camden investigates
(how about palliates)
all complaints against staff. It was pointed
out yesterday how accusations are often made unfairly against
officials, particularly
those in high office. (OOPS nice comment, but what about when the
accusations are often made
fairly? This is clearly not one of
those... aaahhh! ) The council spokeswoman added that directors believed
Mr Meyer had contributed
to improvements. ( Comment
GRAMMATICAL ellipse improvements
to WHAT? techniques
for deceit and abuse of position??? A bicycle SPOKESperson said) Comment:
is this fact or should it go in the children's, mutant FICTION
section...?
Last night, Mr Meyer, 37, declined
to comment, beyond (ooohhh!
What was left
out AFTER the beyond????)
confirming that a six-month contract had expired on December 19 and
that he was now working on a fresh
challenge elsewhere. He is understood to have felt he performed well
and got on well with senior colleagues during a drive to reorganise the
department, taking backbiting (aaahhh
poor chappie) among some members of the team in
his stride. (ooohhh.. well
done stiff upper lip and all that)But the sudden
decision to part company has left the parking department without a head
(ooohhh how sad) just
as it enters its most crucial period for four years and with critical
decisions over who should run (plunder)
the borough’s warden service in the
future to be resolved. (AAHH
how sad!)
Camden is planning to offer its biggest-ever deal to private
contractors at the start of next year and is preparing the ground
before going out to tender on the lucrative
opportunity. (Comment
– for the rate deceiver, and against the ratepayer. )
The winning bidder could take on all of Camden’s parking
enforcement operations for eight years. At the same time, the Town Hall
is struggling to understand why cash raised from parking tickets is down by £4million, (comment due to making it more legal)
with bosses ordering an internal investigation and a search for
“quick wins” to improve performance. A council
spokeswoman said yesterday: “At the end of Mr
Meyer’s contract, the position was jointly reviewed with him
and it was decided not to renew the contract (surely
no, decided not
to prosecute
because he
knew too much
and would spill the beans). The decision has
absolutely nothing to do with contracts or parking tickets.”
She added: “During his time with Camden, John has played an important role in the
council’s review of the service to make parking more transparent and fair (just kidding) .
There were, however, some errors of
judgement on his part that we
believe (how about
KNOW?) were not
compatible (how about
illegal abuse of position) with the head of service (how about fraud) role or the
public profile of the post. No further action is necessary.” (Aaahhh)
Mr Meyer has forged
(oops Freudian slip there)
a reputation as a top operator in the specialised world of parking
enforcement and has advised other councils and large parking companies
on their operations. But, as the New Journal revealed in an
investigation in October, his appointment in Camden was the source of
staff unrest from almost his first day. A group of staff took the
unusual step of writing to their superiors – albeit
anonymously – to advise caution. While some of his new
colleagues at Camden raised the possibility of a conflict of interest
over Mr Meyer’s private company HHCT Limited, which repairs
hand-held computers used by wardens, and his brother Simon’s
post at one of Camden’s contractors, council chiefs stood by their man. (man? How about dishonest person?) In
a briefing organised in response to the New Journal investigations,
environment department director Rachel Stopard insisted there would be
no conflict in terms of his private interests and that he had given up
a position he had held in the Conservative party. And in a private
memo, Robert Scourfield, her deputy, confidently announced Mr
Meyer’s appointment to staff, introducing him as a star signing and
suggesting he would be in post until June 2009.
Officials at the Town Hall stressed
last night that the “errors of judgement” did not
relate to Mr Meyer’s business interests. Senior officers told
last year how they need to make the parking service “fit for purpose”,
(oops grammatical ellipse again...
--- what purpose?) although initial moves to hike
builders’ permits by 267 percent have not engendered much
confidence among motorists. Unresolved internal investigations into two
suspended, well-liked managers
have, meanwhile, further angered staff. The department was already
unsettled by the departure of Rudy Bright, the last permanent parking
manager, who left last year with a redundancy package soon after he had
been lampooned by protesters in a You-Tube video condemned by the
council.
Camden’s Labour group leader Councillor Anna Stewart said:
“This a blow to the Camden Parking Service, which is in a
demoralised and volatile state. There is a massive
financial shortfall looming (get
out and punish more unlawfully) this year and staff will
be under pressure to bring in ever higher charges for residents.
Parking must be fair and effective for local people.”A
council spokeswoman said: “The process of recruiting a new
permanent head of parking services is under way, and short-term
arrangements have been made to cover the post temporarily.”
It has been said that …
This is a child's story for bedtime ooohs and aaahs, and pity the council for their shortfall, we must be public spirited and sympathize all together now... AAAAAHHHHH!
Posted by Neil Herron at 5:19
AM 0
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Labels: camden council, Camden parking tickets, invalid PCNs, john meyer, parking ticket appeals, rudy bright