IS TDC GETTING TO GRIPS WITH ODD FINANCIAL GOINGS ON AT RAMSGATE HARBOUR?

Is there a bigger financial bad-smell emanating from the TDC run Ramsgate Harbour than from the gunge floating in the harbour?
(My thanks to ECR for the pic above and to Michael Child for the pic below.)
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I love Auditors. When they are unhappy with something they couch their language carefully and talk about 'levels of assurance'. For the average Thanetonian, a Limited Assurance rating, is probably interpreted as room for fiddling, graft and corruption, let alone that much repeated cry of 'brown envelopes'. A 'nil Assurance' rating presumably means we haven't got a clue if the tax-payer is being ripped off!
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The picture below shows the main uses of Ramsgate Harbour; the commercial port (Trans Europa Ferry Service and now Wind Farm support); and The Royal Harbour with the marina packed with expensive private boats and Ramsgate's fishing boats. The Business Objective for TDC is ' To ensure that the main services at The Marina are administered effectively and are cost efficient and provide a strong income stream to the Council.
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Despite what looks like a thriving set-up, Ramsgate Harbour cost us all £750,000 last year!
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Now I do not know enough of the details as to why Ramsgate Harbour made such a loss but perhaps the East Kent Audit Partnership report in the last quarter of 2008 might start to give an inkling. For those with time on your hands go and look at this link:

http://tdc-mg-dmz.thanet.gov.uk/Data/Governance%20and%20Audit%20Committee/20081209/Agenda/$Agenda%20Enclosure%205.doc.pdf

I have tried to precis the scandalous findings of EKAP and they are as follows:

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1. There has been lax charging or no charging for electricity and water supplied to rented properties at The Harbour. (In simple terms, TDC Council payers have been paying other businesses electricity and water bills for years! How much has this cost us?)

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2. Rents were not being reviewed and not being paid up to date.

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3. One lock-up had a TDC Cllr's car in it with no contract or charges being levied.

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4. A Port 'let' had no lease agreement or licence entered into or even a simple written agreement that led to a £10,000 debt. ( This probably cannot be enforced as a result!)

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5. 350 litres of gas oil has disappeared and not been investigated by anyone.

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6. Contrary to TDC's Contract Procedure rules, £138,000 was spent with a single gas oil supplier without market testing (i.e finding the cheapest supplier) when during the same period the Port purchased oil from another supplier at a cheaper rate.

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7. TransEuropa Ferries contract expired in Dec 2006! They are still paying charges (at the 2006 rates?). There appears to be a debt history with Trans Europa with the oldest debt being £73,000. (So what is the total debt owed by Trans Europa?)

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8. The technical dept at the Port is reported as having a distinct lack of awareness of TDC's purchasing rules. ( Considering the steps TDC has taken for a number of years to train staff about compliance with CPRs, this is amazing. Is it perhaps 'Audit speak' for ignoring the rules completely?)

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9. Electrical work and maintenance was carried out by Holbrook and Revell Electrical Ltd (HRE Ltd) for years without a CPR contract tender until presumably Audit stepped in, in Sep 2008 and it would now appear to have a 4 year contract.

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10. No checking or certifying of work invoiced to the Port by HRE Ltd , that was either emergency or planned work, ocurred. In other words, no checking if the work had been completed took place as invoices were presented and just paid.

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11. The Port seemed happy to pay general labouring rates of £19.50 per hour for jobs like cleaning leaves from gutters or sweeping up bird droppings. ( Are there that many trees in the Harbour?). This was done without seeking competitive quotes from other general labour suppliers. ( Audit speak for giving the work at inflated rates to mates?)

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12. Aggregating contracts to bypass TDC Contract Procedure Rule (CPR) Compliance. This was not only a problem at The Port but the EKAP report lists upto 30% of all TDC contracts might fail to comply with its own CPRs. (This will be looked at in another posting shortly).

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CPRs perhaps need explaining. Basically, any contract payment can be made below £10,000 by a TDC Officer without reference to Cabinet. So if you make 3 payments of £9, 999 for what is essentially one contract, you can handle £29, 997 of business without reference to Cabinet at the officer level and avoid tendering etc! CPR's are thus designed to stop unfair contracts and prevent in simple terms, bribery and corruption. Wilfully ignoring CPRs should be an instant dismissal offence, such is the potential for corruption. The Port spent £134,000 for one service alone by aggregating in this way. How many others were aggregated?

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The present Conservative Administration of TDC has been in charge of Ramsgate Harbour since 2003, with the Deputy Leader having responsibility for Ramsgate Harbour until May this year when Cllr Kirby took over responsibility. Whilst I am informed that the 'cess-pit' of maladministration at Ramsgate Harbour is being sorted by TDC, 6 years into the present regime, it strikes me that Cllr Latchford needs to shoulder some responsibility here, and perhaps his resignation from the Cabinet might be in order? I am more worried by this catalogue of inept management of our Royal Harbour than I am by his hilarious 'leaping salmon' antics in The Edinburgh Woollen Mill last summer. There is a time when all 'old warriors' need to enter retirement gracefully and perhaps that time has passed.