Conservative Dale Heenan has made his first public statement since stepping down from his cabinet position after being issued with a court order to pay outstanding Council Tax.
Swindon Borough Council had previously refused to name the councillor who had been issued with a court order to pay an outstanding £981.62 in Council Tax despite being sent a number of reminder letters. The details came to light following a Freedom of Information request but the name of the serving councillor involved had yet to be released until today.
Cllr Heenan, who was Cabinet Member for Sustainability, Transport and Highways said: "I have always paid my Council Tax in full, and there was no desire or intention on my part to avoid paying. I believe I am entitled to raise questions about the amount being incorrect, and I accept that I should not have allowed the issue to proceed so far before reaching a resolution. For the record, I paid in full twice last year and received a cheque for more than £1000 back from the Council.
“The public is entitled to expect high standards from their elected representatives, and Cabinet Members should be seen to take responsibility for their actions. When I say I will do something I stick to my word, and the most honourable course of action open to me is to set an example, and therefore I handed in my resignation to the Leader of the Council.
“This is a private matter, but mistakes happen and unfortunately this one was not easy to fix. If this was casework for a resident then it would be treated as confidential. At no time has this made any difference in my role as a councillor."
Cllr Dale Heenan will continue to represent his Covingham and Dorcan ward.
Leader of the Council earlier today issued a statement naming Cllr David Renard: “Today [29th November 2016] the Director of Law and Democratic Services and I have received Councillor Dale Heenan’s resignation as Cabinet Member for Sustainability, Transport, and Highways following the recent Council Tax story in the media.
“Contrary to the impression some might have, I can confirm that Councillor Heenan has paid his Council Tax in full and in no way tried to evade his responsibility to pay it.
“I would like to acknowledge Dale’s quick public admission and willingness to do the right thing by resigning. Dale has made a great contribution to the many successes of the Council over the years, not least, leading on the solar power agenda.
“I am confident that Dale will continue to serve the people of Swindon and the ward that elected him, Covingham and Dorcan, to the utmost of his ability.”
The Leader of the Swindon Labour Group, Cllr Jim Grant, said: “I welcome Councillor Heenan’s public admission that he was the Councillor forced to pay his council-tax through court action, however I would urge him to make clear to Swindon residents why this situation occurred. One wonders whether Councillor Heenan would have owned up to this hadn’t it been for the Freedom of Information request forcing this matter to come to light.
"I personally don’t really understand why Councillor Heenan is resigning from Cabinet when this issue is to do with whether he can exercise his responsibilities as a Councillor when being forced to pay his council-tax through court action. I would like to know why is he resigning from the Cabinet but not resigning as a councillor as this episode has nothing to do with his role as a Cabinet Member?”
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