I have just received the vote results for the full council meeting click here to read them as we all paid for an electronic voting system the scan of a bit of paper seems a little strange, anyone know why?Sorry about the error on my previous post.
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Monday 13 October 2008
Council meeting vote results for China Gateway
I have just received the vote results for the full council meeting click here to read them as we all paid for an electronic voting system the scan of a bit of paper seems a little strange, anyone know why?Sorry about the error on my previous post.
12 comments:
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The council hasn't used electronic voting since the days when some councillors discovered they couldn't operate the right buttons and found they'd voted for rather than against.
ReplyDeleteThe system was last used in 2003 shortly after the Tories took back control of TDC. This was the occasion of a budget meeting when complete dissaray broke out as the vote to approve the budget was tied and the Tories budget was carried by the casting vote of the Chairman Jeff Kirkpatrick.
ReplyDeleteThe electronic voting system was installed by the previous Labour Administration at the same time as a live web casting system was installed, strangely neither have worked since the Tories came to power in May 2003 !!!
At the same time as I asked for the results for the China Gateway vote I also asked for the Ramsgate parish council vote results, this is the reply I got.
ReplyDeleteGood morning,
I forgot to advise you that a recorded vote was not taken on the Parish
Council item.
Regards
Mike the thought of councillors not being able to differentiate between the yes and the no button, once the chuckle has died down raises some interesting questions, probably best not asked. Was it a recorded vote and if so who pressed the wrong button?
It is my intention to get them to use the webcast system any help with phrasing a question about this that can be raised to a valid LGO complaint if necessary would be appreciated.
I remember going up to Mole Valley DC over the SAFFA house planning matter with many serving and ex serving members of the Armed Forces attending the decision.
ReplyDeleteNot only did the local authority deal with this matter by overspill and monitors they had the whole procedure recorded and on web cams.
In the ensuing campaign i can clearly recall the self respect of a certain village/local authority being put up for auction on e-bay perhaps the same applies here?
The point is, that democracy is not seen to be at work here in Thanet especially under the cabinet system which is widely despised.
I very much doubt if many Cllrs were really informed in that meeting, to make a decision of which jobs do not play any part of a planning application and perhaps our Ken should remember that.
Michael, at present Cllrs Bruce and Nottingham are working at a Scrutiny sub group on how to get the Councils IT working and more user friendly, it really galls me that in this day and age where technology is available to most people the and Council have the means but not the will to use it more. I can talk face to face with friends in Australia, South Africa and the USA, in fact we sometimes have a conference chat via webcams, its so simple but someone who lives in Hawley Square cant even watch Council proceedings taking place a few yards away...
ReplyDeleteI will try and explain the Councils voting system,, as for some strange reason the electronic system is not used we
normally we use a show of hands, where there is something contentious some members may ask for a recorded vote, the clerk then calls out each members name and they reply 'for' or ' against' and it is recorded on the sheet you have published.
The electronic system wont record how each individual member voted, just the numbers and the option for members to call for a recorded vote will still exist.
I have received several complaints about the way the meeting was conducted and that is being looked at.
Not on the Gateway issue but generally another strange thing is that when you have 56 members and well over half of them put their hands up in favour of something why is it that the Chairman feels the need to count them all when it is blindingly obvious that something has been carried, he then proceeds to count those against and the abstentions as well, incompetence, ineptitude, or just plain not up to the job ????
ps, I should have said the the Ramsgate Parish Council vote was taken on a show of hands...
ReplyDeleteIts interesting that Cllrs Lodge Pritchard and Scobie voted in favour of this application because as I recall they werent so happy about the Westwood Cross Estate, especially round the time of the election last year.
ReplyDeleteOh well. That voting record clears up why Bill Hayton was replaced by Ken Gregory then!
ReplyDeleteI actually know why KG replaced BH and it was nothing to do with CG but to do with other matters
ReplyDeleteE
Mike I have had a word with Richard Samuel about the web casting and he says he supports the idea, I have suggested that this would be best done on one of the free hosting sites or the KCCTV site that we are already paying for.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the council should consider using blogger as a forum where issues could be resolved in a very open way. A leaders and chief executives blog would be very beneficial as would using blogger and therefore not costing the tax payer.
I would have thought Cllrs Bruce and Nottingham would benefit from consulting with cllr Simon Moores, companies pay large sums of money to have hin lecture to them on IT whereas TDC has his sevices available for free.
Here in Ramsgate there is quite a bit of interest about who in TDC is for or against the town council, whether it’s true or false there is a lot of thinking along the lines of; TDC has delayed our town council, Broadstairs already has a town council which has just its museum from closure, our museum has just closed, we don’t like it.
James as information about the meeting, amendments both carries and not, peoples reasons for voting, it is becoming clear that quite a few people who are against the current plans, voted for them. Rightly or wrongly they appear to believe that approval with all of the conditions rather than rejection with uncertainty over the conditions that would be attached to them after an appeal, is the lesser of two evils.
ECR it certainly looks like rebellion in the ranks.
E as things stand, to those who don’t know the details it looks very bad indeed, reduces our perception of KGs credibility, makes us concerned about the decision to approve as BH who we know to be experienced voted for rejection. So if there is a reasonable explanation why don’t you enlighten us?
Doesnt hold out much hope for the scrutiny of the application when it is going to the planning committee when the chairman says it doesnt make any difference to residents what hours the lorries will move - said that no-one takes notice of sundays or bank holidays - only probably because he was a fireman but the rest of us do like our rest days!
ReplyDeleteWe like you Michael wait with baited breath for what Bill Hayton did wrong to be replaced by an idiot like Ken Gregory. At least Bill Hayton understood the need for attention to detail
JamesMaskell,
ReplyDeleteI fail to see what Cllrs. Scobie and Lodge-Pritchard's views on Westwood Cross have to do with this issue. Presumably those who were against Westwood Cross (and I'm not sure if they were both on the council then)had concerns for our town centres but this whole plan for Manston is a different thing altogether, surely.