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I WAS NOT ATTACKING THE PARISH CLERK

Dear Ed,

I have noted with interest Mr. Godfrey's recent public manoeuvrings to become a councillor after the May 2007 elections.

The one thing he will learn very quickly is not to have knee-jerk reactions as he did to my recent article `Parish Council Farce`. If he had read the article a little more carefully he would have understood that I was referring only to the January and February meetings of the Parish Council via their published minutes which are the definitive legal document as published on this website and made pretty clear by the references used.

What happened at the March meeting is another matter, those minutes do not become public until after April's Council Meeting.

Further Mr. Godfrey, my observations were not directed towards the way councillors behave towards one another, but the really serious business of potentially being able to use one's council position to the benefit of oneself or to an organisation  represented outside the Parish Council.

Finally, I was not attacking the Parish Clerk, just reminding everyone associated with the Parish Council of the duties of one who holds such a position, as they all appear to have forgotten them.

Being a councillor or Parish Clerk is a serious matter and not something which should be undertaken lightly, and whilst the councillors are unpaid, the Parish Clerk is paid. (see Parish Council minutes).

The Parish Clerk is in effect the Council's law officer and as such has access to a great deal of expert advice at any time.

However, taking the observations of the last three meetings, can the reputation of Hawkinge Parish Council slide any lower?

VERITAS