bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

OK it has gone up by 3%, I suppose that is better than in recent years. But how the heck do the plod justify putting their portion up by 4.5%.

The country is in recession, people are loosing jobs all over the place but it seems that the "authorities" can charge what the heck they want and get away with it.

We have no local services. The nearest police officer is at miles away, we never see a traffic warden (and we need them), etc. Nothing for local kids to do except hang out on street corners. whilst we have an enormous park behind me, it is just fresh air and fields. No football/cricket/tennis etc.

Yet I have to pay extra to a parish council and get nothing but bins emptied from the borough council.

Thats is I am seriously thinking about getting opinionated in local politics.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

Of course plod can put his bill up, we're in a recession so more people nick stuff so plod has to do more work so puts his price up which makes people more skint which makes more people nick stuff so plod has to do more work. . . . or am I being cynicle.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

When I was a kid, we just put jumpers down for goalposts (we even pinched a few traffic cones which we managed to "keep" for 6 months by hiding them in the bushes after we were finished with them.

Every now and then someone would turn up with a cricket set, we just knocked the stumps in an played wherever.

Tennis - well when the weather was dry enough we would rig a rope/clothesline for a net and likewise get on with it.

Ok none of it was regulation, but if what you wanstringted to do was kick a ball, or hit one with a bat/racket, you could easily do that.

Why do you think/suppose that if money was spent to provide proper marked out areas for these things that kids would use them?

If kids want to do something, they will find a way.......

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

Yep... like braking and entering... lots of useful things laying about to help wit that... ;-)

But we where the same... we had our own stumps. And no it wasn't me.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

Yes but the park behind me is fields, as in long grass, cows with the associated waste, sheep, long grass and path/woods to walk in. Nowhere for young boys to use their jumpers as goalposts etc.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

The new unitary Shropshire Council has not increased council tax. But the West Mercia police bit has gone up by 5%. This is partially to fund the new gym for police officers at Telford Police Station.

Why the hell can't they go join a bloody gym, and pay the joining and membership fee - just like everyone else? Why are police officers a special case? Why do I have to fund the cost of this? It's taking the pi$$.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

Everybody wants an annual pay rise. The money meeds to come from somewhere.

Re: bloody rates bill has just arrived
 

Well yes, but if the police hadn't put their rate up do you think your council tax would have gone down:rolleyes:.
Put it this way, a few years back my local council made an almighty c0ck up and increased our villages council tax by 33%!!!!!
I made a phone call to my council office venting my frustration at this and was told that if the overpaid funds weren't spent we would recieve a rebate off of the following years council tax bill.:---)
Did we? . . . . .did we f***. The bill increased the following year just like everywhere else:smt017

And of course the police force will only argue that they need a gym so they can be fit enough to chase toerags and the like.