Melanie F*cks Sandwell Over One Last Time!

Rejoice, rejoice - at least while you read the first part of this post! All the rumours of the last couple of weeks are true and The Skidder is pleased to be able to reveal that "Sadwell" Council's unpopular "Assistant Chief Executive" Melanie Dudley is currently using up holiday before being officially booted-out on 3rd October. No doubt this is being dressed-up as "leaving by mutual consent" or some such but make no mistake - this is another defenestration. Mel herself begged to be saved via, er, Twitter (which speaks eloquently as to her lack of judgement):

"Wow friends. There are some nasty people who try to ingloriously end your career. I am currently on the receiving end. Please don't let the bullies win xxxx."

(Bizarrely, ex-bankrupt and metaphorical Cooper c*ck-sucker Cllr Joanne Hadley added "Don't let the bullies win! "Lol"!)

Jan Britton has apparently already booked the venue for Mel's leaving party:

Mel was, with Jan Britton, obsessed with arse-licking the Smethwick scumbag Darren Cooper's bottom whilst earning a very high salary. Meanwhile, corruption, cronyism and incompetence ran rampant in the "socialist" but deprived Borough.

I cannot say that anyone on the following list was directly involved in fraud and corruption but they were all in post whilst everything went on. Most of them did not have a track record of success to merit being given high - and highly-paid - office (quite the opposite in the case of Sharma) and were seemingly too busy counting their money to notice what was really going on. At the very BEST they were grossly negligent for failing to notice what was actually happening under Cooper and Hussain but the suspicion is that they knew far more than the comrades are letting on which is presumably why Cooper "promoted" some of them:

Jan Britton
Melanie Dudley
Neeraj Sharma
Stuart Kellas
Nick Bubalo
Adrian Scarrott

Just yesterday, I pointed out that four of the above signed a document used to justify the closure of The Public. It is absolutely inconceivable that they did not know that the document included at least one absolutely massive porky from Cllr Mahboob Hussain but even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, they have all known for around two years that they signed a fraudulent document but have taken no steps whatsoever to correct the record. I also pointed out yesterday that Mel's staff were directly involved in shafting The Public from the very beginning even though she was a Director of a company directly involved in the bent deal. Ignore the jargon but this is precisely what Jan Britton's staff said in a Freedom of Information reply (made pursuant to a statutory obligation):

"The day to day management of arrangements is such that officers with 
involvement in projects report directly to Stuart Kellas, the Director of 
Strategic Resources and not to either of the Local Authority LEP Directors 
to avoid any conflict  of interest arising.  Neither Sarah Melanie Dudley 
nor Kerry Ann Bolister has any access to any internal electronic drives on 
which information pertaining to either current or future projects is 
stored.  These arrangements have been in  place since the Strategic 
Partnership Agreement was signed on 31 July 2009."

Leaving aside that this is what is popularly known as "bollocks", this whole charade was blown apart when Mel herself specifically involved herself in the aforementioned "review" document to screw The Public. If she didn't know anything, how could she sign this document you might well ask yourselves?:

Given the capacity of some of Jan Britton's staff to very publicly lie we understand that the comrades have commissioned a new neon sign for The Kremlin to shine brightly over the unfortunate lumpenproletariat of Oldbury:

We all know that Darren Cooper had sh*t for brains and Mel was happy to do his bidding. We have yet to get the full story about the multi-million disaster (yes, that is multi-million pound disaster) surrounding the BT contract that has landed lucky Sandwell residents with the huge office block that is Providence Place [sic] but Mel was intimately involved in that fiasco.

And so here are the highlights of Mel's "glorious career" in the stinking cesspool of Jan Britton's Sandwell:




Well moving on...... Before her recent spectacular fall from grace as the new regime cuts through the bullshit, Mel was openly boasting about the deal she did with Cooper for a massive pay-off from Dickhead Darren just before his death. This illegal and ultra vires deal was to pay-out on Mel's voluntary departure next year. Below the subscription to this post is the Freedom of Information request I have submitted in respect of Cooper's gross misconduct (although I am amending the request to also include details of the current deal - see further below).

You have to ask yourselves why Cooper and Jan Britton have used huge sums of OUR, taxpayers', money to pay off high-ranking departees. If they don't know anything bad about the regime why is the taxpayer paying huge amounts for them to sign "confidentiality agreements"? What is the point?

And how, in these times when local councils are facing austerity and cuts, can Mel apparently go to the woman-bullying thug to make a deal for her to voluntarily leave 12 months later?

Another matter arises from all this and I refer you back to the list above. We know that Kellas went in mysterious circumstances. He was a big friend of Darren (and those ghastly sleazebags the Hortons) but there was some sort of falling out and Kellas was literally marched out of the Oldbury Kremlin.

Bubalo was intimately involved in signing off all the bent land sales and worked with Hussain's son but seems untouchable at the moment. But he has to be skating on very thin ice......

Sharma has been kicked out (plus huge pay-off). Mr Scarrott will be featuring in a post of his own very shortly. Now Mel is on her unlamented way too.

[We should also note that Eling and Co have also got rid of John Satchwell from his role as head of Parks where I am told by a SMBC FOI  that there is an ongoing investigation].

The incredible thing is that despite his obvious shortcomings, the top man is still ducking the bullet but, at last, the noose is tightening around Jan Britton's substantial neck. It will be seen from the above that the relatively new Leader, Steve Eling, is clearing out the sewer good and proper so who will be leading the paid service forward? Astonishingly, the late stiff arranged for Britton to become the Chief Operating Officer for the new talkshop, West Midlands Combined Authority where he is supposed to be working for two days a week (although I put in a FOI request to them yesterday since WMCA insiders say that the useless Britton has missed a number of meetings).

Given that Britton was the Captain whilst Cooper and Hussain's Titanic headed full steam for the iceberg some might be glad that he is now only f*cking-up Sandwell for three days a week rather than five but it does seem that Cllr Eling will have to move quickly to install a new management team in these trying times for local authorities. The next tier of management at Sadders is unfit for promotion as they too have, at best, turned a blind eye to what was going on during the Cooper/Britton regime. Outsiders will need to be recruited but this will not be an easy job for Eling and his senior comrades. Why would anyone with any talent want to work with laughing stock Jan Britton AND in a sh*t-hole like Sandwell? I guess a string of temporary deals will be done which will cost taxpayers' dear but Eling still has to wield the axe and cut out the proven dead wood - including the unfunny clown running the circus.

Unfortunately, whilst Mel fucked Sadwell over during her employment she has also f*cked us all in leaving too. Apparently Steve Eling and colleagues have caved-in and arranged a huge pay-off for the Fragrant One. I am not entitled under Freedom of Information to find out what Mel was contractually-entitled to on her departure but I am amending the FOI set out below to ascertain the "extra" the comrades are forking out to get rid of her quickly. Hopefully, in the new (and very welcome) spirit of openness being engendered by Steve Eling the regime will be happy to supply the details....

And so, whilst it is good that another dismal Cooper clone is going it is regrettable that Mel has screwed us yet again and is laughing all the way to the shoe shop.....

THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - COMMUNITY NEWS - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!

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Email:  thesandwellskidder@gmail.com          Facebook:  Julian Saunders

PROUD TO HAVE BEEN TROLLED BY DICKHEAD DARREN COOPER (DECEASED).

FOI - 07/09/16

The Chief Executive of SMBC, Jan Britton, has stated in writing that the late Cllr Cooper arranged a severance package for employee Melanie Dudley for her to leave the Council’s employment in or around April, 2017.

This egregious abuse of power is ultra vires and, therefore, unenforceable.

Please state:

1   There will clearly be diary entries for both parties to this “agreement” and so please provide copies of same to show the precise date(s) AND location(s) of the meetings and provide all notes, memoranda and any other records of whatsoever nature in respect of same.

[I appreciate that any records may show personal financial data in respect of employee Dudley and, save in respect of (4 ) below, I am happy for SMBC to redact same in any response to this request].

2   Please state the identity of any other person or persons who attended the meeting(s) in 1 above if not clear from the disclosable records.

3   Clearly Cooper was just a Councillor and had no legal power to make binding contractual agreements on behalf of SMBC in this way. Accordingly, please disclose ALL memoranda, attendance notes, written records of telephone conversations, reports and documents of whatsoever nature relating to SMBC purporting to “legitimise” this unlawful agreement.

4   Please disclose the relevant clause in the employment contract between SMBC and employee Dudley permitting SMBC to agree a compensation package for employee Dudley over one year before her due departure date? Please disclose the procedure in such circumstances and produce all documents of whatsoever nature purporting to show that the said procedure was implemented and followed.

5   Please disclose the precise legal reason for employee Dudley seemingly voluntary leaving her position eg resignation, retirement, etc. If different from 4 above - please disclose the contractual clause in the SMBC contract of employment permitting SMBC to pay compensation in whichever circumstances pertain. If different from 4 please disclose the procedure and all documents of whatsoever nature purporting to show that the procedure was implemented and followed.

6   A person simply leaving the Council’s employment is not, as I understand it, normally entitled to any compensation from, ultimately, the taxpayer. If, in responding to the above requests you purport to show that employee Dudley IS entitled to a financial package then I am aware that she will be entitled to certain financial payments pursuant to her contract of employment. That is a private matter and I appreciate that I am not entitled to that information pursuant to the FOIA. In the unlikely event that employee Dudley IS entitled to a compensation package I am aware that this is precisely calculated. Please state the amount, if any, which Cllr Cooper and/or any other SMBC officer/employee has purported to agree with employee Dudley over and above her legal contractual entitlement.

7  Has employee Dudley been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement (separate to her duty of confidentiality as an employee) in consideration for obtaining a compensation package? If so, by whom? Please disclose all records, attendance notes, memoranda and documentation of whatsoever nature arising from any arrangements for a confidentiality agreement.

End.