I NOTE that the Isle of Wight Council that it is planned to increase next’s year council tax take by the full five per cent, in order to address a £20 million or more deficit in the council accounts.

I note the suggested reason for such a huge increase in the tax burden on Isle of Wight taxpayer is, in part, to address a shortfall in social care services, thus shamelessly pulling on the heart-strings of every decent-minded individual.

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I note also, the ‘deficit’ and the apparent justification for that shortfall, makes no mention of, I estimate given past readings on the matter, £10 million, including legal fees, of taxpayers’ money poured down the drain by the obvious incompetent and undoubted proven mis-management of the chain ferry issue.

Having made such a disastrous ‘mistake’ in the management of public finances, one would expect those responsible to take the hit and the budgetary effects of such be absorbed and carried by the organisation that brought that situation about.

However, it appears the Isle of Wight Council has every intention of forcing Island taxpayers to bear the cost of such gross mis-management. 

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Allowing for the huge waste of public funds expended on the chain ferry, it can be reasonably estimated the stated deficit that Isle of Wight taxpayers may in effect be liable for, is in fact £10 million, although, given the evident incompetence in financial management, one could reasonably argue that even this amount should not be passed to Island taxpayers to cover.

By all normal standards of moral decency those responsible both for the chain ferry disaster and for the current deficit really ought to hang their heads in shame; the old excuse of lack of central government funding is no longer relevant given the enormous annual and extra payments made to the Island in recent months, most of which appear not to have resulted in any improvement of services provided across the board.

Those people employed at the Isle of Wight Council should at least try to make amends for their collective incompetence by ensuring the Island council taxpayer is not further disadvantaged to cover for such a failure in public office — very probably naive of me to suggest such given the past and current shameless conduct and excuses continuously trotted out to defend the indefensible facts.

Any vestige of confidence in the Isle of Wight Council or respect that I might have personally previously held, is totally gone, replaced with such a deep mistrust and disrespect in its place, that it is doubtful I, and perhaps many tens of thousands of residents and taxpayers, will feel differently for many years to come.

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I have no issue with contributing and paying my dues to our society, have done so all my working life, accepting that responsibility on my part, as long as the amount set is fair, equitable and seen to be utilised for the betterment of services provided and to care for those less fortunate, I am more than happy to make that contribution. 

However, to pay extra to cover for the incompetence exhibited repeatedly by our local council, is a step far too far for me to accept, particularly given the current economic situation with inflation at its highest levels in more than 40 years.

I really resent and begrudge paying any extra pounds to such an obviously morally corrupt organisation. Indeed, I am sure, any right-minded person will have reached exactly the same conclusion. 

The law — unjust as it clearly is as far as council tax is concerned — is being used to cover for gross incompetence and means I and all Isle of Wight taxpayers can only fume while our ever-decreasing finances are further depleted by these parasitic people, ludicrously ascribed as professional officers and aided by elected officers, who, if this measure is approved in council, have absolutely lost the plot.

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