Councillor slams Honiton Town Council as 'not fit for purpose'

A member of Honiton Town Council has spoken out about the void in recent council business, due to a majority resistance to holding meetings online - as a Covid-19 precaution.

This means that no council meetings have been held since the beginning of March, just prior to the Government introducing lockdown measures.

Councillor Caroline Kolek told Honiton Nub News: "Despite both the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) strongly advising that local councils should continue to meet virtually, Honiton Town Council has chosen to ignore this advice.

"As town councillors, Councillor Pollington and myself sense that the people of Honiton are increasingly frustrated by this. We believe that our town deserves better.

"We have requested meetings using either Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. We have even offered to advise the Mayor on how to do this, yet seven councillors have continued to block such efforts.

"We have been told repeatedly by the current mayor that if we hold virtual meetings we are opening ourselves up to legal action. Legal action by who; serving councillors?

"Advice would not be given to councils if it broke the 2010 Equality Act and other towns and parishes around the country do not appear to have a problem.

"Yesterday, it was confirmed by our Deputy Clerk that Cllrs: Carrigan, Combs, Dolby, Gilson, McNally, Taylor and Zarczynski have refused to hold July's meeting virtually, with the ever-swelling agenda being moved into August.

"This agenda has already been moved from June. We have had no meeting in April or May either.

"No one knows who the new mayor is as there have been no mayoral elections despite virtual platforms being used to elect council officials in Budleigh Salterton, Ottery St Mary and Axminster.

"Our current mayor is on record saying he does not want to stand again; the town's preferred choice had made public his intentions to stand but sadly has since resigned.

"We have important business to debate and enact. This is currently being done via email - which is open to challenge as well as being open to obvious abuse.

"It has also been confirmed by the Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) today that these email votes are unlawful.

"Councils can only make decisions at a properly convened council meeting. It is yet unclear as to what will happen regarding this.

"The council as a whole has not been visible in supporting the local community in what has been an unprecedented, stressful and scary few months.

"HTC should be working closely with the Chamber of Commerce in supporting business as they look to recover. What have councillors been doing during this traumatic period? In fact what have some councillors actually done over the past two years?

"The priorities of certain councillors appear to not be in the best interest of the public. We are bogged down in a quagmire of personal vendettas and self-aggrandisement.

"I am seriously considering my position as I see no purpose in the town council at all and believe it has not been fit for purpose for some time.

"I hang in there hoping the winds of change will blow and when they do they bring a mighty gale!

"In the mean time, we must meet in July - as other authorities are now doing - to discuss important issues in hand and to support the town.

"We are elected to serve the community, not ourselves."