Letters / Flawed analysis of council reserves
Your analysis of available reserves is flawed – indeed it is disinformation!
Plenty of use for those council reserves, candidates argue in election campaign
Firstly, you can’t consider the local authority pension fund as being part of the equation, so don’t give the Shetland community a false expectation.
Secondly, SIC has no control over charitable trust funding strategy – however in my election manifesto I call for a reset of strategic goals between SIC and SCT as a priority.
I do recognise we have reached a healthy position with reserves.
However, we already commit between £15-20 million per annum toward maintaining our existing services and capital programme, and I’m comfortable with this.
Having reached a stable, well governed basis for use of investments, we now have much more scope to take decisions to further protect/grow services and invest in our infrastructure.
A priority for me is to invest in our roads infrastructure and allow long overdue upgrades to these assets – at the same time as providing at least some paths/cycle ways for pedestrians whilst doing so.
Road safety is a major issue with voters, both on main roads and minor roads – a long list is forming, including a strong case for a blanket 20mph for Scalloway.
Davie Sandison
Independent candidate for the Shetland Central ward
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