What’s the reserve fund for? (Geoff McCarron)
I heard Hazel Sutherland on the radio this morning (20th October) regarding the proposed spending cuts by the SIC, and I thought that the much used “we” was really meant to be “you”, so”school-ma’amyish” did it sound.
It immediately took me back to those terrible days of Margaret Thatcher. When she said this, and she did so often, it was usually followed by putting thousands of people out of work. So what is the reserve fund for? Obviously one can’t use it for fleshing out public spending for the greater good of the people, or for new projects such as Mareel, ok then, but is it for providing very cheap loans for people who already have money to get even bigger, better boats or trucks or fancy plant? I really don’t know, perhaps some kind person could enlighten me. What I do know however is, if you have a stash of money and that money is simply there to provide such things for the benefit of the people, then it should be used for that purpose and not spread so thinly that one does not realise that it is benefitting anyone.
Geoff McCarron
Setter,
Sandwick.
John N Hunter
The Reserve Fund comes from the rapidly dwindling profits from operation of the port of Sullom Voe. It was created under the provisions of the Zetland County Council Act 1974 and was built up when the port was busy. However due the reduction in traffic and successive councils using it to fund deficits in the SIC’s normal expenditure it is in danger of disappearing. It does not make loans.