10 million pound accident

The long overdue Millenium Town Park now set to go ahead. An amendment from Deputy Southern to the business plan has allocated 10 million pounds to get the work going. The vote was 23:22. Economic Development minister Senator Maclean spoke against the plan, but it seems he accidentally voted for it.

On the ball St Ouennais

If I may add,

THE accidental pressing of the wrong button has cost the States £10m but means work on the town park will start next year.

In a bizarre incident in the States Chamber yesterday, Economic
Development Minister Alan Maclean’s ….ringbinder….. nudged the wrong voting button at a crucial moment.

Despite declaring that he would be voting against a plan to spend £10m of taxpayers’ money on the proposed town park, his calamity gave the proposition the one vote it needed to succeed.
And after the red-faced Senator explained ……….cont.

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/09/26/town-park-by-2011/

Another Jersey blogger (Fritz) made the classic but true comment,

So a ring-binder made a more sensible decision than a states member would have.

Enough said about the current government methinks.

BB

Minister Ozouf has been on radio to say he is not happy. The money may be ringfenced but not spent he said. As the treasury and economics Minister he has to difficult job of trying to balance the books.

On the BBC phone in show a speaker said that when the park had been agreed years ago, the money had been allocated, and has now been spent. He said that ever increasing department budgets to pay for ever more staff was where the money had gone. Empire building of civil servants as he put it.

The Jersey accounts now show a cost to the taxpayer (public sector workers also pay taxes ) of £301 million pounds plus a further £30 million in employers social security payments. a total of £331 in wages for the public sector seems a lot for a large rock of 48 sq miles.

BB

THE prospect of the Town Park being built by 2012 has been virtually ruled out by the Council of Ministers.

Last week the States voted by 23–22 to support a proposal by Deputy Geoff Southern to spend £10 million creating a ‘green lung’ in the area around Gas Place car park, but yesterday ministers agreed that until a scheme was in place that provided alternative parking spaces to replace those currently available, no park would be built.

[url=http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/09/30/town-park-not-by-2012-say-ministers/

If it takes two and a half years to build a simple enough park, how come a new airport tower with high tech equipment costing six million can be built in just over a year. Funny that !

BB

boatyboy wrote:Minister Ozouf has been on radio to say he is not happy. The money may be ringfenced but not spent he said.
BB

More like ringbound by the sound of it.