Joe Behan - Independent Councillor - Wicklow County Council


Go to content

Main menu:


Chief Executive Rules

Archive Statements > 2018

Chief Executive Rules
20th June 2018

The Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council has been in his post for less than a year and already he has proven that unelected Council Management will get their way at the expense of the taxpayer and citizens of this county.

In the past 3 weeks alone, we have seen him grant planning permission for a take away beside three schools despite elected Councillors adopting a strict policy of No Fry Zones near schools; he has refused Councillors access to a detailed development agreement with a wealthy property developer at the Florentine Centre in Bray and he has given notice of his intention to approve the reassignment of a lease on hugely valuable former Council lands via a Vulture Fund through one company to another company without seeking the permission of Councillors.

In each of these cases it is clear that the representatives of the people, the Councillors, are being shut out of decision making and are only getting information when the decisions are already made.

These decisions fundamentally affect the finances of the people of County Wicklow because when bad deals are done with wealthy developers, the Council loses money which is then taken from the people in property taxes, parking charges, levies, fines, rents and rates.

When this Chief Executive was appointed by Councillors last summer, he said he wanted to work in partnership with Councillors but in fact his actions have not matched his words. He and his senior colleagues have orchestrated the activities of Wicklow County Council according to their priorities rather than those of the elected representatives.

I believe that his decisions have the capacity to make his position untenable and soon it will be time for Councillors to decide whether more direct action needs to be taken to prevent this trampling over their rights and responsibilities as the elected representatives of the people of County Wicklow.

Cllr. Joe Behan

Independent



Serving the people of County Wicklow since 1985 | joebehan@outlook.ie

Back to content | Back to main menu