TREULIAU CYNGHORWYR - COUNCILLOR'S EXPENSES

Neithiwr cefais gadarnhad gan Uwch Swyddog yn yr Uned Gyfrifon o'r hyn rwyf wedi ei amau ers dipyn. Pan welwch unwaith y flwyddyn rhestr o dreuliau cynghorwyr Gwynedd (gyda llaw gostiodd £1M flwyddyn diwethaf, gan gynnwys lwfansau a ballu hefyd) dim hwn yw'r wir ffigwr o gost Cynghorwyr Gwynedd.

Os dwi yn mynd i Gaerdydd i gyfarfod, ac archebu gwesty gan dalu fy hunan, mae'n dangos ar fy nhreuliau I. ond os dwi yn mynd i Gaerdydd i gyfarfod a gofyn i'r Cyngor archebu gwesty/Ticed Tren/Awyren a ballu ar fy rhan, nid ydyw yn dangos gyferbyn a fy nghostau i felly drethdalwyr Gwynedd mae angen i chi ofyn am y ffigwr gwir faint o gostau mae eich cynrychiolwyr yn ei hawlio. Wn i am un cynghorydd wariodd dros £50 am dacsi ble fuasai ei gar ei hun ddim hyd yn oed wedi costio chwarter hynny.

Mae angen newid y sustem fel fod wir gost cynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos yn lle eu bod yn cuddio tu ol i'r mantais hyn.

Last night I had something confirmed which I have had my doubts for a long time. When you see a list of what your councillor has claimed in expenses in the last year (which cost £1M in 2009/2010 including the allowance), this is not the true cost of your local councillor.

If I go to Cardiff for a meeting and stay in a hotel and pay myself re-claiming the cost from the Council at the end of the month, it will show as a cost for me in the annual statement. Now if I go to cardiff again for a meeting and ask the Council to book me a hotel/Train Ticket/Ieuan Air etc for me, then it will not show in the annual statement as a cost against me, so ratepayers in Gwynedd gom ahead and ask what is the true cost of your councillors. I know about 1 councillor whose taxi bill was over £52 whereby if he/she had taken the car then it would have been a quarter of that.

The recording system needs to change so that the public in Gwynedd knows the actual true cost of their councillors to avoid them using this loophole.

Arbedion yn Cyngor Gwynedd Savings

Iawn dyma ddechrau.

Faint mae Cyngor Gwynedd yn dalu am ymgynghorwyr, mae ganddynt ymgynghorwyr addysg, gwasanaethau cymdeithasdol, priffyrdd a ballu, i gyd yn hunan gyflogedig. Oes mae gan rhai arbenigedd ond os ydych yn talu £50k, £60k a £70k a mwy i staff, dylai'r arbenigedd hynny fod ganddynt.

O'r cyllid addysg fe wnaeth Cyngor Gwynedd gyflogi Ymgynghorwr i edrych ar Ysgolion Uwchradd. £70,000 ydi'r son o ffi sydd yn cael ei drafod. A pwy feddyliwch chi sydd wedi cael y swydd, wrth gwrs cyn bennaeth ysgol sydd wedi ymddeol ac yn derbyn pensiwn sylweddol yn ogystal a'r cytundeb aur hyn.

Dim bai arno ef, os fuaswn I yn ymddeol a chael cynnig joban handi am £70k arall, twp fuaswn i'w gwrthod.

Iawn os ydi o yn gyflogedig, mae'n rhaid fod yna hysbyseb wedi bod yn y papur, rhestr fer wedi'w llywio ac yna cyfweliadau cyn apwyntiad.

Os ddim dylai ffurflen dendr wedi ei chreu ac ymgeiswyr dendro am y gwaith yn unol a chanllawiau Tendro Ewropeaidd (European Journal).

Mi fyddwn yn gwneud ymholiadau ar sut wnaethpwyd yr apwyntiad.


Let's start.

How much does Gwynedd Council pay for external consultants. They have consultants for education, social service, highways and others, all self employed or employed by a consulting company. Yes, sometimes you require some expertise, but with staff earning £50k, £60k and £70k pa you would expect that expertise to be in house.

From the Education Budget, Gwynedd recently employed a Consultant to look at Secondary Schools. The talk is that £70kpa is being paid, and who would you think got the job, well of course a retired head teacher who not only receives a substantial pension but also this golden contract.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't blame the retired head teacher, as if I retired and someone handed me a £70k contract, i'd be a fool to refuse.

My argument is, how much is spent on consultants by Gwynedd Council.

Now if employed, there must have been a job advert, an interview then someone appointed to the post.

Otherwise it would have to be tendered for the work in accordance with European Journal and Tendering Procedures.

I will provide figures at the end of the exercise and also an explanation as to how the appointment was made.

Pawb ai Farn

Allan or 4 ar y panel daeth Guto Bebb (Ceid) yn gyntaf efo Elfyn llwyd (Plaid) yn ail. Keith i llafur ac Roger Roberts yn anffodus yn 3ydd.

Ond mi roddodd Guto Bebb "put down" gwych i Dyfed - "..Dyfed paid a fod mor fabiaidd" ac er dwi ddim yn rhy hoff o Llwyd roedd ei "one liner" i Guto yn eithaf digrif (er iddo wedyn ymddiheuro iddo).

Yn amlwg mae'r Byd mewn llanast a dim oherwydd y Banciau, oll mae nhw wedi ei wneud yw amlygu y problemau oedd yn bodoli a dod a'r holl beth i'r wyneb.

I Llafur fenthyg, benthyg a benthyg am flynyddoedd heb unrhyw syniad o dalu bethyciadau yn ol yn ddi-ofal. Yn Cyngor Gwynedd mae yna rhyw fath o bwyllgor sy'n edrych ar sut i wneud arbediadau. Ar wahan i'w swyddogion sydd ar y pwyllgor, mae pob un namyn 1 yn aelodau o Blaid Cymru.

A does ganddynt ddim syniad.

Dwi am rhoi ychydig o syniadau iddynt, rhai yn ddadleuol, fflamychol a gwahannol.

Sgwn i os fyddent yn eu cymeryd i fyny ?


Out of the 4 on the panel tonight, Guto Bebb (Cons) came first with Elfyn llwyd (Plaid) second. Keith (Lab) and Roger Roberts (Lib Dems) [I never acknowledge titles like Lords, Ladies, Sirs, Princes, Kings and Queens] came joint 3rd.

But Guto Bebb gave a fantastic "put down" to Dyfed Edwards the Leader of the Sheep Party in Gwynedd Council [Sheep as they all follow blindly the lead sheep] "...Dyfed don't be childish" and although he is not my favourite person, Elfyn Llwyd's one liner to Guto was humerous and I did clap (although he later apologised to him).

Obviously the World is in a mess, not all the fault of the banks, all they did was highlight an ongoing problem.

For Labour to borrow so much money over a few years with absoloutely no idea how to pay it back, is careless to say the least.

In Gwynedd Council there is some kind of a group that looks at ways of making savings. Apart from officers, all the elected members bar 1 is a member of Plaid Cymru.

And being honest, they have no idea.

So i will volunteer some information to them, some will be debatable, challenging and different , I wonder if they will take it up ?

Cyfarfod Hydref - October meeting

Heddiw roedd yna gyfarfod eithaf diddorol yn y Cyngor.

Mae arweinydd y Cyngor (Dyfed Edwards) yn gyson yn son am gydweithio a ballu, ond geiriau gwag unigolyn heb unrhyw fath o synnwyr ar sut i arwain ydi hyn.

Roedd Llais Gwynedd gyda hawl i un sedd ychwanegol ar Fwrdd y Cyngor, ond tydi plaid Cymru wrth gwrs ddim eisiau hynny.

Gyda llaw os ydi aelod etholedig yn galw un aelod arall yn "ignorant git", yn uchel fel fod hyd yn oed swyddogion yn y blaen yn ei glywed, oni ddylai wedyn ymddiheuro ?

Dyna beth ddigwyddodd gan aelod o Blaid Cymru yn erbyn aelod o'r Rhyddfrydwyr, ond wrth gwrs nid y tro cyntaf iddo wneud rhywbeth o'i fath, mae'n aml yn torri ar draws a gweiddi pethau. Mae yna gwyn wedi ei roi i fewn i'r Swyddog Monitro oedd methu peidio ei glywed y tro hwn.

Esgusodion aelodau o'i blaid ydi "..mae o yn hen a dim yn deallt".

Hen neu beidio, os ydi pob aelod arall yn dilyn y canllawiau, rhaid iddo yntau wneud hefyd. Mae Llais Gwynedd wedi bod yn rhy "laid back", ond dyma ddechrau i ni newid"

Mi fydd yna gwyn hefyd yn mynd ar ddesg Carl Seargant erbyn fore Llun fod y Cyngor wedi gweithredu yn groes i'w gyfansoddiad ei hunan. Ultra Vires ydi'r gair lladin am hyn.

Gyda llaw neis oedd gweld y Cynghorydd Dyfrig Jones yn gwneud ymweliad a'r cyngor, digon posib am yr 8 mis diwethaf ei fod wedi bod yn brysur iawn gan nad ydwyf wedi ei weld rhyw lawer mewn cyfarfodydd ?

Today there was an interesting meeting of the full council.

Gwynedd Council leader (Dyfed Edwards) constantly talks about "working together", but these are empty words, he has no idea how to gel a working relationship. Move over Dyfed and let Liz Saville have a go, she has a much better chance of doing it. (He might even report me for this).

Llais Gwynedd had a constitutional right for an extra seat on the Board, but of course plaid cymru doesnt want that.

By the way if an elected member calls another elected member an "ignorant git" publically and loudly, with even officers in the front hearing him, I believe he should apologise publically.

That is waht happened when an elected member for plaid Cymru called a Lib Dem member, but of course this is not the first time this has happened to this member. He regularly talks over other members and shouts things at people during debates. A complaint has gone in to the monitoring officer on this who couldnt help hearing him this time.

Usual excuse from members of his own party is "...he is old and doesnt understand"

Age does not come into it, everyone else has to follow the rules and so should him.

Llais Gwynedd has been too laid back, but the lion will now start to bite.

A complaint will also arrive with carl Seargant by monday and the Ombudsman for Wales that Gwynedd Council has acted "Ultra Vires" and has made a decision contrary to it's own constitution.

Just an extra note, it was nice to see Councillor Dyfrig Jones back with us in meetings, possibly for the past 8 months he has been too busy to attend many meetings.

ETHOLIAD SEIONT CAERNARFON ELECTION

Be fedrwn ddweud, llwyddiant i Llais Gwynedd. Hen sedd y diweddar Bob Anderson weithiodd ei galon dros y dref ac mae gan y ward rwan gynghorydd arall i weithio ei galon i'r ward. Mae yna ddwy sedd yma gyda'r llall yn cael ei ddal gan Roy Owen.

Mae Endaf Cooke yn adnabyddus am gwyno am sefyllfa y sgwar, siopau yn cau, trethi uchel a ballu ac ddim yn fachgen sy'n cymeryd rhesymau gwan ac yn fodlon cwffio dros bethau mae'n goelio mewn (sef trait aelod o Lais Gwynedd).

Eraill yn y ras oedd Menna Wyn Thomas- Plaid Cymru (neu Anti Menna) ddaeth yn ail, Tecwyn Thomas - Llafur, Gareth Edwards - Anibynnol, a Llinos Thomas - Ceidwadwyr.

Cyn yr etholiad mi fuaswn wedi rhoi Llais Gwynedd, Llafur ac Anibynnol yn weddol agos gyda Plaid rhywle rhwng 250 - 300 gan dyna fel arfer yw'r bleidlais iddynt yn y ward hon, mae Alun Roberts a Ioan Thomas wedi sefyll yma heb lwyddiant ac wrth gwrs o symyd Ioan i ward Menai gan luchio allan Moi oedd y catalydd i'r datganiad "Mae nhw wedi C*chu ar fy mhen" ("they (plaid) have sh*t on me") gan Richard Morris Jones.

Beth bynnag, Llongyfarchiadau mawr i Endaf Cooke (neu Endaf Chips), ac roedd sylw Now Gwynys yn wych, "LLAIS CHIPS BATTERS PLAID".

Mae na rhywbeth mae'n rhaid am Llais Gwynedd a Chips. Gyda Chris (Chips) Hughes, Endaf (Chips) Cooke, a fi wrth gwrs sydd wrth fy modd efo chips.



What can i say, success for Llais Gwynedd. This was the late Bob Anderson old seat who worked his damnest over the town and now we have another hard working individual who will do his best for the area. There are 2 seats in this ward, with the other being held by Roy Owen.

Endaf Cooke is known for complaining about the square, shops closing, high rates and many other matters and is not a man to take things lying down. (which is the usual trait for a Llais Gwynedd candidate).

Others in the race was Menna Wyn Thomas- Plaid Cymru (or Aunty Menna as I call her) who came 2nd, Tecwyn Thomas - Labour, Gareth Edwards - Independant and Llinos Thomas - Conservatives.

Before the election I would have placed Llais Gwynedd, Labour and the Independants pretty close with Plaid somewhere between 250 and 300 as that is the usual voting pattern in this ward. Alun |Roberts and Ioan Thomas are past candidates here, without success, and of course moving Ioan to Menai Ward was the catalyst for the statement "they (plaid) have sh*t on me") by Richard Morris Jones.

Anyway, warm congratulations to Endaf Cooke (or Endaf Chips), and Now's idea of a headline was superb, "LLAIS CHIPS BATTERS PLAID".

Must be something about Llais Gwynedd and Chips, with Chris (Chips) Hughes, Endaf (Chips) Cooke, and of course me - who absoloutely loves chips.

ETHOLIAD BLAERNAU ELECTIONS

Ymddiheuriadau am beidio uwchraddio'r blog ers dipyn, cymysgedd o nifer o bethau, prysurdeb y ward yn galw arnaf allan yn aml ac fe ddaeth y gliniadur i ben ar ol 4 blynedd o wasanaeth da a ffyddlon felly roedd rhaid gwario am un arall.

Iawn lle da ni. Yn Blaenau bu Paul ennill i Blaid Cymru, Llongyfarchiadau iddo ef, dwi ddim yn ei adnabod, ond roedd yn wr mynwesol a chyfeillgar tra yn brwydro yn erbyn Richard yn ward Diffwys, ac yn barod yn unionsyth i ysgwyd llaw Rich ar ol colli.

Wrth gwrs roedd colli sedd yn siom, ond mewn tref fechan i gael 2 gynghorydd yn ymddiswyddo yn drawiad ac felly cosbi yn y bwth oedd y diweddglo.

Mae Paul wedi datgan ei fod yn cefnogi y frwydr i gadw ysgolion yn ein pentrefi a threfi, felly fydd yn mynd yn erbyn polisi Plaid Cymru yng Ngwynedd sydd yn benderfynnol o'u cau.

Diddorol fydd ei safiad pan fydd y frwydr yn mynd i'r Blaenau.


Apologies for not updating the blog for a long time, a mix of many things, very busy with ward matters and the laptop came to it's useful life, so I had to buy a new one.

Paul won the seat for Plaid in Blaenau and warm congratulations to him, I do not profess to know him but having met him, I can say that he is a gentleman and was honourable when defeated by Richard in the Diffwys ward.

Of course loosing the seat was a hard pill to swallow, but not entirely unexpected having had 2 councilors from a small town resign in a short period, obviously it was felt in the polling booth.

Paul has stated that he supports small schools in our rural areas, which goes agaainst Plaid Cymru's policies in Gwynedd who are determined to see them close.

It will be very interesting when the roadshow moves to Blaenau.