Dear all,
Since my last update, we’ve had the most powerful storm for over a decade and a by-election on top of all the usual project launches and service delivery that you are all working on – so it’s definitely been a busy few weeks.
I want to reiterate my thanks to everyone for all your hard work and understanding as we dealt with Storm Éowyn. While it was challenging, the fantastic effort shown by both those directly dealing with the impact the weather caused, as well as those who worked from home who ensured normal delivery of services continued, meant we were able to deal with issues quickly and efficiently.
I also want to thank everyone who had a part to play in delivering another successful election whether that was in the run up to the event, or attendance at the count in the evening. The by-election on Thursday 13 February involved contributions from a range of services who once again worked well together to make sure the election went smoothly.
Our focus over the next few weeks will be on setting our budget. The Council’s meeting on Thursday March 6 is when budgets and Council Tax rates will be agreed for the coming year. The Council's meeting papers will be published a week in advance and the meeting will be live streamed as usual on our YouTube channel.
By-Election
As mentioned, the by-election for Ward 7 - Kirkintilloch East & North Twechar was held on Thursday 13 February with Aidan Marshall of Scottish Labour being elected Councillor. A Special Council meeting was held on Friday 14 February to decide any changes to the makeup of committees as a result. Details of these will be published on the Committees webpage as soon as possible. You can also find the full breakdown of results on our by-election results webpage.
Employee Travel Survey
There is still time to complete the Employee Travel Survey before it closes tonight. The survey will help to understand how we currently travel to and from work, and what, if any, initiatives you would like to see implemented to help support alternative methods of travelling. You can complete the Employee Travel Survey online with the results helping to inform our Climate Action Plan and Corporate Travel Plan.
Garden Waste Permits
Households in East Dunbartonshire can now apply for their 2025 garden waste permits. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the services involved in this year’s launch including ensuring our online application form successfully moved to our new CRM for the first time. The annual charge of £50 per green bin entitles the household to 19 fortnightly collections from March to November. Permits can be applied for online by visiting the Garden waste collection page.
Monthly Wellbeing Focus
As usual, our Monthly Wellbeing Focus is updated each month with key campaigns and details of support all employees can access. You can find this information on the Wellbeing section of the Employee Zone.
And Finally….
Congratulations to Twechar Primary School and Early Years Centre on their recent inspection report. The school and EYC were inspected in November 2024 by a team from Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate, who found that the ‘confident and enthusiastic’ pupils were looked after in a ‘nurturing and supportive’ environment. You can read more on their achievements in the news section.
Thanks,
Ann
