CRACKPOT “COUNCILLOR” Carl Cashman WANTS TO SPEND 80 GRAND OF YOUR MONEY A YEAR ON A FORGOTTEN FOUNTAIN
He says it’s a “drop in the ocean.” Tell that to the families whose bins aren’t being emptied. Tell that to the pensioners watching their council tax rise. Tell that to anyone who’s ever tried to walk down a Liverpool street without tripping over a pothole.
A councillor has unveiled plans to spend £80,000 of your money fixing a forgotten fountain — and then another £80,000 every single year to keep it running.
And in his own words, he says Liverpool City Council can afford it.
Because they have a budget of half a billion pounds.
And it’s just a “drop in the ocean.”
The fountain nobody asked for
Let’s be clear about what we’re talking about here.
A fountain.
Not a hospital. Not a school. Not a food bank. Not a homeless shelter. Not a pothole repair programme. Not a bin collection service.
A fountain.
A thing that squirts water into the air. A relic from a bygone era that nobody under the age of 70 has ever noticed. A piece of stone and pipework that has sat, forgotten and unloved, while the city around it has crumbled.
And now, one councillor has decided it’s the priority.
One resident said:
“I’ve lived here my whole life. I couldn’t tell you where this fountain is. I couldn’t tell you what it looks like. But I can tell you about the rubbish piling up on my street. I can tell you about the potholes that have been there for years. And now this man wants to spend £80,000 a year on a fountain?”
“It’s a drop in the ocean”
Here’s where it gets even better.
The councillor — who we’ll generously call “crackpot” — has defended the plan by pointing out that Liverpool City Council has a budget of half a billion pounds.
Half a billion.
And in his mind, £80,000 a year is nothing.
A drop in the ocean.
One local said:
“That’s easy to say when it’s not your money. Half a billion pounds sounds like a lot. But it’s our money. And every £80,000 he wastes is £80,000 that could have gone somewhere else.”
Another added:
“He says it’s a drop in the ocean. But if everyone thought like that, we’d have nothing left. It’s not a drop. It’s a leak. And it’s draining our city dry.”
What else could £80,000 buy?
Let’s do the maths.
£80,000 a year.
That’s:
- The salary of two experienced social workers
- A year’s worth of meals for hundreds of vulnerable people
- A fleet of new refuse trucks
- Thousands of pothole repairs
- Mental health support for young people
- Funding for youth centres that have been closed
- Emergency housing for families on the waiting list
But no.
It’s going on a fountain.
One pensioner said:
“I’ve been through two winters without heating because I can’t afford it. And he’s spending £80,000 a year on water features? It makes me sick.”
The half-billion excuse
The councillor’s argument is simple: the council has a big budget, so £80,000 doesn’t matter.
But here’s the thing: if the council has half a billion pounds, why isn’t that money being spent on the things that actually need it?
Why are there still potholes?
Why are the streets still dirty?
Why are families still waiting for homes?
Why are libraries closing?
Why are vulnerable people being left to fend for themselves?
One community campaigner said:
“He says it’s a drop in the ocean. But the ocean is made of drops. And the people who feel every single drop are the ones he’s supposed to be serving. He’s forgotten that.”
As one resident put it:
“He can keep his fountain. I’ll keep my council tax. And if he wants to waste £80,000 a year, he can do it with his own money — not mine.”
