First, let's get something straight- We love Rochdale.
But we hate the fact that our town is turning into a shithole, because of (in no particular order):
Corruption
Cover-up
Mismanagement
Failed regeneration projects
All the above are connected, as are those who are most to blame for our town's failings. Just follow the pay grades. Those £100K salaries (plus benefits) are certainly not performance related.
Rochdale is not run by those who are elected.
The politicians are usually mere mouthpeices used to embellish press releases. They appear in photos cutting ribbons at the opening of white elephant schemes and “initiatives”.
Hard-hitting official political criticism might amount to the odd bit of pothole pointing.
By the next general election we will know just how much in excess of £1,000,000 Paul Rowen will have received in salary and expenses. Will he be judged on his performance?
But who really pulls his strings?
Rochdale is widely known to be an “officer run” town. The officers include the senior executives from Rochdale Council plus “partners” such as the Rochdale Development Agency, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Impact Partnership. The connections with paid advisers, consultants, “businessmen” plus the slippery lobbyists and public relations executives means the trough has had to become bigger in the past few years. Just how much this Mafia of the Mediocre are paid is sickening.
Millions of pounds have been wasted in spin, mismanagement and cover-up. You will never read about much of it in the 'local' newspaper, the Rochdale Obscurer. Ask yourself why?
Don't worry, RAW will investigate and publish the truth about what is going on. Perhaps, now that the Guardian Media Grope is leaving town, we should print a paper version of this website and call it ROP- Rochdale's Only Paper.
Our themes will be simple - to investigate the scandal of official Rochdale:
Spin, Corruption, Cover-up, Mismanagement, Failed regeneration projects.
Lets start with... SPIN
An “undisclosed amount” is currently being spent on council spin for a “marketing strategy” and “rebranding exercise”
Deputy Mayor Keith Swift Regeneration “portfolio” holder, Rochdale Online "business development" executive and Frank Sinatra impersonator (you couldn't make this shit up) is quoted saying:
Green fields? What about £350,000,000 muddy fields that were once green fields?
Not Kingsway Business Park- there are far too many people in the photo.
Kingsway Business Park is an example of a gold plated, highly polished turd that has failed Rochdale.
As many council employees are having their salaries slashed through pay and grading,Rochdale is just about to get a “Director of Transformation” - for the mere snip of £120,000 p.a.
Ms Smith, new £120k turd polisher
Rochdale Council has just announced its new internal promotion of
"Executive Director for Transformation". Oldhamer Pat Smith (no relation to Cyril or T.Dan?) will:
“help to boost the town's image and tackle some of the negative perceptions following 12 months of bad publicity as Rochdale repeatedly hit the headlines”.
Smoke and mirrors. Useless form over substance. Tackling "perceptions"
and boosting the town's "image" is paper-based turd polishing.
It is not the systemic, root and branch reform Rochdale desperately needs.
Rochdale Council already spends almost £2,000,000
on media management every year.
The Chief Exec likes to have “positive messaging” for Rochdale.
Add to this the bloated salaries and expenses of the high fliers in all the public bodies serving (themselves in) Rochdale. Are all these senior officers fully accountable?
The Rochdale Observer suggests RMBC Chief Executive Roger (the dodger) Ellis is the officer that costs our town the most to employ. Is this true? Are there any others that have been missed from the Taxpayers' Alliance's Rich List?
What scale should senior Rochdale Officers be judged on?
On a literary topic akin to that what Stephen Fry refers to as "Complete loose-
Freedom of Information requests by local blogger Matt Simms should uncover this - but only time will tell.
We repeat, here are the local scandals that RAW will be investigating- FOR FREE:
SPIN, CORRUPTION, COVER-UP, MISMANAGEMENT, FAILED REGENERATION PROJECTS.
Pardon our potty mouths, but it is time to flush out the turds rather than polishing them at great expense.
Rochdale deserves much better.
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9 comments:
Does anyone know the full salary, benefits and expenses for the heads and senior officers of:
Impact Partnership
Rochdale Development Agency
Rochdale (PCT) NHS
Local Strategic Partnerships
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
Link4Life
What do we get for the money?
Roger Ellis likens Rochdale Council to a FTSE company.
Which one-
Northern Rock?
Royal Bank of Scotland?
These idiots need to go.
No pension - just a flea in their ear.
£120k Director of Transformation?
Rebranding? What planet are these morons on?
Teach these muppets yoga - and get them to disappear up their own arses.
How on earth can anyone at Rochdale Council ever justify a wage of well OVER £2000 a week?!
I work over 40 hours a week, it takes me 2 hours to travel and I don't have anything like a full dinner hour.
I pay my all taxes, don't claim benefits and get nothing for free.
The services I get from Rochdale are not good- especially schools. If I could afford to go private I would but then I would also have to pay for my children to travel to private schools away from Rochdale.
To be an honest hardworking citizen when these so called pubic servants are milking our town at our expsense. I must be a real mug.
I read about these obscene wages and dispair. Why do I bother paying my council tax?
I don't object paying for talent. These officer have NO talent- look at the mess Rochdale is in.
No amount of PR can hide the truth. The scales are lifting from our eyes.
Looks like the new "Transformation" miracle officer is already earning her £120,000 corn.
And she recycles shit too.
Here is a lame repeared mantra that has been used time and time again to justify piss poor performance for platinum pay:
Rochdale Observer-
Pam Smith, the council’s head of performance and development, said: "These figures represent 0.0005 per cent of the total workforce in local government. Councils are responsible for ensuring that more than £100billion of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and provide hundreds of services local people want and need. We need talented people in top management positions but in these tough economic times it is only right that everyone gets to see how much is paid to the people who help deliver their local services. Many councils have bigger budgets than FTSE100 companies and to get the brightest people to deliver the best services for local people they need to pay a competitive wage. Unlike the private sector, people can show whether they think this is wrong by voting at the ballot box."
Bollocks.
Stupid use of meaningless statistics (0.0005%).
Reference to FTSE companies and £100 billion of "wise spending".
How very dare her.
Ballot box? Rochdale senior officers can't be voted out. The morons that form most of the elected councillors (and MP) would not dare rock the boat that is the SS Titanic.
Multi million pound deckchair shuffling - that all that those who run Rochdale are fit for.
Looks like the shit's about to hit the fan. Keep the pressure up RAW! You need to flush out these corrupt carpetbaggers.
What the blazes is going on in Rochdale? Councillor Dooby dooby do wowing the bobby soxers with a load of bunkum about green spaces? Just as the Lib Dems are about to sell off Springfield Park?
You're right RAW. You couldn't make this shit up.
What will chief turd polisher Swift be singing the next time he performs at a Rochdale wedding?
'Somewhere over the rainbow
Shiny turds fly
Shiny turds fly over the rainbow
Why then oh why can't I?'
These people should be in the circus. Not running the council.
Springfield Park.
Link4Life want to sell it off for a golf driving range.
Done deal.
All the key councillors sown up.
Prison beckons.
Good scoop for RAW. I see the MEN have finally reported on what's going happening.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1108098_town_to_spend_100000_on_rebranding
Investigate Rochdale Online and that weirdo 'billionare badboy' Malcolm Journeaux. According to his own forum entry and photos, the confused born-again Christian has spent Easter with a bunch of saddos exploiting young women in bunny suits. Clean living, loving family man? Sad weido with an amateur photography fetish more like.
Looking like one half of Peters and Lee, the Rochdale Online cult leader is photographed indoors in a 'billionare bad boy club' venue in Leeds Vegas with his sunglasses on - looking like a Yugoslavian pimp. The bizarre 'toughman' scowl on his face makes him look like he is taking a dump.
He is also a buzy bad boy pimping Rochdale Town centre and Kingsway business park. Does he not realise he was put on the management committee to appeal to his sad vanity and to justify the cash that the RDA and RMBC spend on adverts to keep him quiet so that the early hours don't have trolls on the Rochdale Online forum with familiar sounding alter egos writing annoying shite. Can he not hear the chuckles when he attends the TCM meetings?
What a sad, sad world it is for MJX photography - telling lies to vulnerable and impressionable young women who laugh behind his back and are not that impressed with the bentley and tacky underwear. The sunglasses pimp photos say it all. Creepy weirdo. Is he that insecure?
And he has the cheek to say that his glorified blog is competition to the Guardian Media Group. Poor Philip Hirst must be getting very tired of these pervy antics.
Get Real - Get it said, fella.
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