‘We won’t be bullied’ says town council

A Thame Town Councillor has accused the county council of bullying, after Oxfordshire County Council threatened the town council with legal action over an unpaid invoice.

The invoice in dispute is for the sum of £65,000, for maintenance costs relating to the swimming pool, between 2009 – 2011. The town council however, is refusing to pay the invoice until the costs are clearly itemised and described so that it can be satisfied that the individual items can be related to a contract it had with the county council.

The Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, told councillors at Tuesday’s Policy and Resources committee meeting that the invoice just says ‘For sundry items’, despite her having asked the county council for more detailed information.

Cllr David Bretherton said: “They (Oxfordshire County Council) are just trying to force a smaller body into submission. We are being bullied.”

In July, 2010, responsibility for running Thame Swimming Pool transferred from Thame Town Council to South Oxfordshire District Council, five years after it was built under a Joint Use Agreement between OCC, SODC and the town council.

The committee agreed to support the Clerk in her endeavors to hold out from paying the invoice until the information demanded is provided by OCC.