http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/newsarchive.php Recent News Stories from Susan Gaszczak en-GB Susan Gaszczak http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Susan Gaszczak 2010-03-09T17:19+00:00 United Kingdom http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000069/incineration_the_liberal_democrat_position.html Derek Scudder, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Waste said: 'We agree that the New Barnfield site is unsuitable for any sort of waste management facility. The Liberal Democrat group at County hall has consistently opposed the use of the site and on a number of occasions has put forward motions to that effect. The ruling Tory group has always voted these down. 2010-03-09T08:06+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000068/school_choice_not_for_almost_2500_children.html n a press release issued by Herts County Councils on secondary school places, it was announced that 95.48% of children had been allocated one of their ranked schools - up 2.63 per cent from 2009. 2010-03-03T16:15+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000067/who_is_telling_the_truth_on_grit.html Liberal Democrat councillors have been left asking who is telling the truth on the grit situation following misleading statements. One statement from the county council's portfolio holder for roads which has been contrasted by a briefing sent to all County Councillors from the council officers doing their jobs, without the political spin. 2010-01-05T16:19+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000066/county_runs_out_of_grit.html Tory-run Hertfordshire County Council has today admitted that it can only go out and grit the roads 6 more times this year. That is the equivalent to 2 nights' gritting - as they admit in their own press releases. 2010-01-05T10:05+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000065/tory_calls_300k_petty_cash.html County councillors were reeling today when a leading Tory County Councillor called a £300k overspend 'petty cash' and said it was 'nit-picking' to raise it'. 2009-12-21T13:21+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000064/has_county_done_its_job_in_dealing_with_the_snow.html Earlier this year we had travel chaos as the snow fell and roads were left ungritted. We are already getting reports of the gritters not being able to get over bridges and leaving whole villages ungritted. 2009-12-18T09:16+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000063/goods_news_on_snow_updates.html Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats are very pleased their nagging earlier this year at the County Council to make their website informative and and responsive to extreme weather conditions has finally paid off. The new system introduced for the first time today is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately with nearly 500 schools if you have a child at Beechfield and another at Westfield, both in Watford, it is quite hard to tell if they are open or closed. 2009-12-18T08:59+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000062/20mph_zones_for_herts_we_ask_when.html Government today published new guidelines on speed limits. These can be found here http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/speed-limits/ 2009-12-16T10:06+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000061/buyer_beware_county_policy_change.html A change in policy by the Tory-run County Council will leave people buying new build houses feeling like they need the trading standards department. The county council has changed its policy on the adoption of roads on new build estates so that in future it will no longer adopt no through roads and cul de sacs. This change will leave home buyers, who will pay at least 70% of the council tax to the county council, with a future headache when their road develops pot holes or faults: they, with their neighbours, will have to foot the bill. 2009-11-25T10:10+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000060/county_spends_45m_it_does_not_have.html The Tory-run County Council this week has bought the freehold to two properties it currently rents for £45 million. As this was not in the County's budget the County Council has had to borrow the money over a 20 year term at a 4% interest rate. The County Council is limited on how much it can borrow and because of this purchase has had to increase its borrowing cap. 2009-11-12T11:23+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000059/unpaid_almost_half_of_all_fines_go_unpaid.html Liberal Democrat Councillors have expressed dismay that nearly a half of all fixed penalty notices issued by the police for public disorder offences remain unpaid each year. 2009-11-11T20:06+00:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000058/council_property_a_mess.html In a report to the County Council it has been revealed that only a quarter of all County Council properties are fit for purpose. A third are not fit for purpose, and highlighted in the report as a red, using the green, amber, red warning rankings. 2009-10-12T19:29+01:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000057/hertfordshire_fast_news_launched.html Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats have today launched their new 'Fast News' service. This will be a regular video feature that will explain what is happening at the County Council in the coming week. 2009-10-12T14:05+01:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000056/budget_consultation__all_doom_and_gloom.html Hertfordshire County Council has just started its budget consultation process with residents for next years spending priorities. As part of this consultation residents are being asked if they want spending to stay the same or decrease. Residents cannot say 'spend more'. 2009-10-07T13:26+01:00 http://www.justcallmesusan.org.uk/news/000055/tories_told_theyre_failing_on_money.html The Auditor's report for the Tory controlled County Council has shown once again that when it comes to finances the Tory administration just can't get its act together - with the costs and risks falling on to the shoulders of local residents. The Annual Governance Report has been passed, but qualified once again, showing that the Auditors are unhappy with the systems in place. 2009-10-01T10:50+01:00