Councillors 'rubbish' at blowing their own trumpets
Wednesday, 14th April 2010.
Town councillors have admitted they are 'rubbish' at telling townspeople about their achievements.
Recent criticisms of local councillors have highlighted a need for them to be able to defend what they do, members agreed at a meeting last night.
They were discussing the town council's website, which is to be given a new look soon.
Town clerk Gordon Mussett told members their website was now a bit dated and the council's marketing manager had suggested a more modern style.
"This is also an opportunity to make it more compliant in terms of accessibility," he said.
But Cllr Maureen Byrne saw the website as one element in a more significant issue.
"We need to remind people in the town of what we do and what we intend to do," she said. "It is about us working together for the benefit of Haverhill.
"We have to start defending ourselves as a professional body and a £1m business. We have to stand together collectively so people know that we spend their money responsibly."
Cllr Anne Gower agreed. "We shouldn't allow ourselves to be the subject of allegations and remarks that do the town council an injustice," she said.
She also said the town council was not alone in this failing. "We are poor at this, along with a lot of other people in the town who do such good work," she said.
Mr Mussett accepted the council was 'rubbish at publicising what we do', but said a lot of it was not particularly interesting to people and so was difficult to promote.
Members agreed to try to promote a more positive image of what they achieved, using their new-look website.
Recent criticisms of local councillors have highlighted a need for them to be able to defend what they do, members agreed at a meeting last night.
They were discussing the town council's website, which is to be given a new look soon.
Town clerk Gordon Mussett told members their website was now a bit dated and the council's marketing manager had suggested a more modern style.
"This is also an opportunity to make it more compliant in terms of accessibility," he said.
But Cllr Maureen Byrne saw the website as one element in a more significant issue.
"We need to remind people in the town of what we do and what we intend to do," she said. "It is about us working together for the benefit of Haverhill.
"We have to start defending ourselves as a professional body and a £1m business. We have to stand together collectively so people know that we spend their money responsibly."
Cllr Anne Gower agreed. "We shouldn't allow ourselves to be the subject of allegations and remarks that do the town council an injustice," she said.
She also said the town council was not alone in this failing. "We are poor at this, along with a lot of other people in the town who do such good work," she said.
Mr Mussett accepted the council was 'rubbish at publicising what we do', but said a lot of it was not particularly interesting to people and so was difficult to promote.
Members agreed to try to promote a more positive image of what they achieved, using their new-look website.
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