Last week's correspondent A Moran (Citizen: Feb 28) is providing bad advice to the local public when he advocates not using the vote in the fast-approaching local council elections.

However, I do agree that the power at the town hall rests with the leading officers and that they act unaccountably. I should know because I was an officer there myself for most of the present decade and from the dawn of the present Henig era. As a hard-working officer and a local ratepayer I was appalled at; the management culture, top officers' disregard for the local public and the mismanagement of public funds. My personality wouldn't allow me to become one of the flock as I believed and always acted as though the local public were my masters (they paid my monthly salary). How can the democratic process rectify the oppressive management culture which has manifested itself at the town hall? I believe by electing a majority of responsible councillors who possess sound business skills gained from the private sector able to ask the right questions and appoint high ranking officers who are excellent people managers and who are trained to a business school of excellence standard.

I would define a responsible councillor as a person who actively seeks and provides the truth (the whole truth) and who behaves openly and accountably towards the local electorate. Some councillors have been asking officers some very relevant questions concerning public accountability recently but not nearly enough.

Black sheep

Lancaster

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.