LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Council has a history of poor behaviour

In May, I resigned my position as a Maltby Town Councillor after 22 years service after learning that three councillors had been accused of bullying the then clerk.

Didn’t Maltby Town Council already have a bad name, when a number of years ago a number of the councillors bullied the then clerk which eventually cost this council (and the people of Maltby) thousands of pounds when “unfair dismissal” was proved? In the recent past negative news appeared in the Advertiser about this council which wasn’t good to read for the people of Maltby, and also for people around the borough.

This was the second meeting I was attending since my resignation and was shocked to learn that two stalwart councillors resigned their positions that night after many years on this council. These two councillors were well known and respected throughout Maltby for the stirring work that they had done at Christmases past and especially throughout the Covid pandemic for the people of Maltby.

The verbal reasons for their resignations were absolutely shocking. When councillors of this calibre tender their resignations, then there is something radically wrong, and with all due respect there wasn’t a councillor sitting at that meeting who could come anywhere near or do the amount of work that these two councillors have done. These two councillors now leave a gaping void that will take some time to put right.

There are issues in this council at present that need immediate attention. A number of councillors need to think hard about  their current attitudes and about the reasons why they are there. They must remind themselves that the people of Maltby put them there, although a number have been co-opted, and that the people of Maltby can remove them all.

At this time, I would find it impossible to wish this council well, but I can wish the new clerk all the luck in the world, because believe me, he’s certainly going to need it.

Keith Stringer, Maltby