DDC finances - from the public domain
- Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
1 December 2016 10:52321368The net budget requirement, for the Council's own purposes, is £14m. This is to be met mainly by:
•
Revenue Support Grant of £3.76m;
•
Distribution of Non
-Domestic Rates of £3.59m;
•
Council Tax of £5.87m; and
•
New Homes Bonus of £1.3m.
Meanwhile at Fort Whitfield on 31/11
The revised TMS increases the capital financing requirement estimates, the operational boundary and the authorised limits for borrowing by £200m.
£200 million! Whatever are they up to?"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - 1 December 2016 11:02321370Something to do with investing in property I believe but any project would have to be full costed and approved by full council before it goes ahead.
- 1 December 2016 11:09321371
- Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
1 December 2016 11:14321373howard mcsweeney1 wrote:Something to do with investing in property I believe but any project would have to be full costed and approved by full council before it goes ahead.
Fully costed and approved? A bit like the White Cliffs Experience, DTIZ etc etc.
Oh good. That's all right then. I can't see how that could possibly go wrong.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11865721/Irelands-blistering-property-market-threatens-new-bubble.html"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
1 December 2016 12:31321374Justified or not what it really boils down to is DDC Councillors need to approve a DDC proposal, absolutely no conflict of interest at all is there!
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
------------------------------------------------------------------- - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
1 December 2016 12:57321377Jan Higgins wrote:Justified or not what it really boils down to is DDC Councillors need to approve a DDC proposal, absolutely no conflict of interest at all is there!
[U]I am sure[/U] that before they did this they would employ 'consultants' who would charge them a small fortune to tell them what they wanted to hear and give a PowerPoint presentation! It's what they always do.Paul M likes this"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
1 December 2016 13:05321379howard mcsweeney1 wrote:
Interestingly, I was sitting in the Council Chamber last night during the public session and did not hear the Sainted Wearside Wonder say any such thing in the open session.
Let's hope he has not mistakenly pre-released to the press a speech he might have made when the public and press had been excluded?
"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
1 December 2016 13:44321382All is explained.
BELLO GARBA AND ASSOCIATES
Solicitors Advocates
International Arbitrators 11
Adana Street
Via Modele Road
Surulere Lagos - Nigeria.fax:234-1-7590907
attn Leader of Dover District Council, England
Your Excellency,
It is my humble pleasure to write this letter irrespective of the fact that you do not know me. However I heard of your council through reading about how successful your council has been over the years concerning their many spendings of other peoples money to make Dover the thriving town it now is.
I am GARBA BELLO, a family lawyer to our late Military Head of State, General Sanni Abacha who died suddenly in power some time ago. Since his untimely demise the family has suffered a lot of harassment from the regime that succeeded him. The regime and even this civilian government that came up now, are made up of Abacha's enemies. Recently, the wife was banned from traveling outside Kano State their home state as a kind of house arrest.
Although a lot of money has been recovered from Mrs. Abacha since the death of her husband by the present Government. There are still huge sums of money in hard currencies saved with some outside security houses and Mrs. Abacha showed me documents of where her husband deposited £200 Million in a security vault for safe keeping.
We have for some time been deliberating on how to invest this fund abroad in a confidential manner until we came to a conclusion to use it to buy houses or commercial property in the Dover District hence I chose to contact you. Therefore, you are to fax me immediately the prices of houses in highbrow areas in places like Deal or St Margarets for us to know how to put our budget. We are also interested in commercial property such as your recently demolished Burlington House. Perhaps we could build the likes of it on the Connaught Barracks, or one of the many other sites you are planning to despoil in the near future, to provide the much needed office space in Dover?
This money £200 Million is already in safe keeping and if your conditions are good we could make you partners in our investment if you can also invest £200 Million. We could share the many profits and you would not need to put up Council Tax or cut services.
Note, there is no risk involved because I am involved as Abacha's confidant. Please you should keep this transaction with you as Top Secret (perhaps it could be discussed when the press and public are excluded from the Council Chamber?)and we are prepared to do more business with you pending your approach toward this project.
I await your response. Best Regards, BELLO GARBA .LL.B (HONS.) BL, LL.M Inner Temple
(Seriously though, with a population of 113,100 in the district this would ONLY mean taking on a debt of £1768.35 for every man,woman,transgender and child!)howard mcsweeney1 likes this"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - 2 December 2016 13:26321412Has Ed Balls started advising DDC on financial matters?
The lyrics in this song are very appropriate
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Video+music+there+may+be+trouble+ahead&view=detail&mid=A853AB9158EC9621CB26A853AB9158EC9621CB26&FORM=VIREhoward mcsweeney1 likes this - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
2 December 2016 13:46321413On the plus side, the refurbishment of the Council Chamber is coming on I see.
howard mcsweeney1 likes this"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - 2 December 2016 14:54321417Nice one Captain,
But before this thread drifts into social profiling, Biggin St planning issues etc etc (based on your picture) I have one question.
Who in there right mind would lend money to an organisation that
- is delivering a £60M commercial development over a decade late and then selling it on for £57M
-believes a cable car from a private development (DWDR) to a heritage site, by passing the town, will provide regeneration
- has been taken to court for dodgy planning approvals at Farthingloe
- found a spare £12M floating around in a housing budget then lost it in a general budget (allegedly - because nothing has been made public))
- has no apparent plan on how the money might be spent
to name but a few of the things that have been posted on here over the years.
This can only be a PFI scheme masquerading as something else (and the dead hand of Ed Balls.
)
Dovorians will be repaying such a loan for generations to come.
I feel a conspiracy theory building across a number of threads
- Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
2 December 2016 16:46321429Melvin,
Apparently 'other authorities are already doing this' so it must be OK? (now where have I heard that sort of argument before? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis)
You will, of course, remember what happened in 1637 when DDC turned Pencester Gardens over to Tulip production?"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,109
2 December 2016 18:24321440Post 11: 'believes a cable car from a private development (DWDR) to a heritage site, by passing the town, will provide regeneration' - why would bananas wish to visit the castle?(Not my real name.) - 2 December 2016 19:21321443Button wrote:Post 11: 'believes a cable car from a private development (DWDR) to a heritage site, by passing the town, will provide regeneration' - why would bananas wish to visit the castle?
Only the DDC would know the answer to that, as the cable car promoters.
Unless you believe in conspiracy theories - 13 December 2016 22:41322065Reading this I think every one in the District should be getting really worried.
http://www.kentlive.news/dover-council-plans-to-blow-up-to-200-000-on-pricey-consultants-to-advise-on-investments/story-29976722-detail/story.html
I think it's time to call for mandatory regular monthly and also random drugging testing of all those working in Fort Whitfield. There should also be full psychiatric testing of all Councillors and senior management.
Perhaps we need a petition or maybe a referendum. - 13 December 2016 22:54322066This was covered in the thread starter Mel so not really news, additionally it is only money that makes it an issue.
- 13 December 2016 23:07322067howard mcsweeney1 wrote:This was covered in the thread starter Mel so not really news, additionally it is only money that makes it an issue.
You miss the point this is the fact that the DDC are planning to employ a consultant for £200K to prove (or not lol) that it is a good decision and advise on where to invest.
Spending money to move from a low possibility to a high probability in one expensive report. - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
13 December 2016 23:31322068On the plus side DDC has somehow managed to shake £720,468 from a magic money tree!
The whole thing is a totally mad scheme set up as a sop for the Liberal Democrats during the coalition government to make sure that users of food banks recycle their baked bean tins and that sort of thing.
http://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/documents/s20300/Recycling%20Reward%20Scheme%20Report.pdf
(And before anyone claims otherwise, that is a real document - not one I have made up for a laugh with its talk of 'digital platforms','green actions' and such)
Whilst apparently we can't afford social care for our elderly, the present plan from the consultants is for council employees, dressed as characters 'Ronnie and Rita Recycle' (Yes! Recycling is for girls too!) handing out £10 notes to anyone seen in the town centre using a litter bin.
As you can see this is all well past the 'drawing stage'.
I can't see how this can possibly go wrong!"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Reginald Barrington
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 17 Dec 2014
- Posts: 3,261
13 December 2016 23:50322069Who would spend 10% of their investment on a consultant when you would be happy to get half of that back as a return?
I think I'm with you on the psychiatric testingArte et Marte - 13 December 2016 23:52322070Thanks Captain.
I think your post proves my point on drug testing.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the paper is to know that it has been reviewed by the Equalities Officer, just to make sure the all minority recycling material is treated equally.
We must demand drug testing now
