Portfolio holders up and running

I spent a very interesting Saturday with the majority of my team deciding corporate policy which will be followed through the year by our portfolio holders. They are able to now to work with officers of the Council to establish an overall plan to be our guiding document for the year. I was impressed at the level of commitment from the team considering that there are some real challenges looming revolving around financial constraints and the long term prospect of a budget deficit. However the new localism direction means that Councillors are empowered to use a bit of imagination to see objectives through following the dismantling of the prescriptive centralism policies of the last administration. I now call Councillors ''social entrepreneurs'' to bring their opportunities into focus. This means using all their talents to develop community projects and indeed spirit within their wards and then to join with the group to make decisions to the benefit of Christchurch as a Borough. The profit will be in the difference they make in their community and the capital the gathering of residents to take responsibility and set standards in their neighbourhoods. Fanciful? Well lets see how it goes!