Total budget £33,940. Further details of the breakdown of what Wintersong will probably cost have been published in the comments of Nairn Matters blog on this article. Interesting to see where the money is going, travel, subsitence etc, etc.
UPDATE Friday morning: questions asked on the Nairn Matters Blog:
'Who decides to employ a consultant?
Who decides the amounts others get paid)?
Who gets to claim travel and subsistence?
How much do the workshop leaders get?
Are minutes of the meetings available to the public?'
The thread over on Nairn Matters has attracted quite a bit of debate so far and Admin over there have adopted a very fair stance in our opinion in their attempt to start a discussion over the event's future.
Perhaps in the interests of transparency the Wintersong group could let the public know a list of payments over and above that of the consultant? The worry about this is that perhaps we have a division now between those who give their time freely to the community and those that receive a payment? It would be healthy to have an open debate on all aspects of the Christmas Lights celebrations and perhaps as, Nairn Matters suggest, we could have something next year that will please everyone.
4 comments:
What a waste!I am sure someone could
have nipped through to Forres and asked for advice.They really know how to put on a show.
Was the job advertised?
Over £30,000 spent on an event that occurred on a single evening!
It lasted, what, a couple of hours? It seems to have had no lasting effect on the town. Indeed as the Nairnshire pointed out, the day-long ban on parking actually deprived the High Street shops of business.
And the event has left no legacy (that buzzword so beloved of Olympics organisers). Except perhaps for a rather bad taste in the mouth, some resentment about the neglect of Christmas, and - oh yes - the fact that a few "event-organisers", "project workers" and "workshop-facilitators" are now very much wealthier.
Never mind the consultancy fees, if this was a local event why were people being paid 'travel, accommodation and subsistence' expenses?
That gravy-train of fees, expenses and payments which until recently was rolling through Westminster has apparently reached Nairn. All aboard!
@Malfunction, according to Nairn Matters these were projected figures so we don't know exactly how much is being paid.
We do need a list of payments in the interests of transparency however.
Yes £7,200 would add to someone's wealth but perhaps any other sums involved may be very smaller.
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