Opposition MP Michael Dunkley has questioned whether parish councils should be abolished after branding them ineffective and another level of bureaucracy.

Auditor Larry Dennis raised the question in the annual audit report released this month which said only one of the nine councils had issued an audited statement this year.

Mr. Dunkley said: ?If you look at the history many people are appointed because they are party supporters.

?If you look at the Auditor?s report he says now might be the time to look at if parish councils serve any purpose at all.

?The PLP have talked about strengthening parish councils and giving them autonomy.

?You have to be concerned about that kind of language based on their performance. It?s another level of bureaucracy.

?If you went out into the community you would be hard pressed to find many people who know they exist.?

However he conceded Smith?s parish council had been very active over the Collector?s Hill junction.

Running parish rest homes was the sole focus of many councils but he said Government was taking over the running of those.

Appointees needed to have experience and vision to get things done rather than simply be members of the PLP said Mr. Dunkley.

Health Minister Patrice Minors said she was looking very carefully at getting good quality appointees, who will be announced in the New Year, who will be committed to dealing with issues.

?I appreciate some councils might not have been as active as they might,? she said.

She praised Smith?s parish council for its proactive stance and said there were others which were successful.

To boost involvement she advised councils to have quarterly open meetings. By law at least one must be open to the public annually.

The Minister said accountants KPMG had been employed to handle financial reporting for the parishes. However in his report Mr. Dennis said it had not improved matters, despite the $66,000 it cost Government.

He added: ?Aside from failing in their accountability responsibilities all parish Councils continue to contravene various requirements of the Parish Council?s act 1971.

?For example many councils do not satisfy legislative requirements regarding the minimum number of council meetings, frequency of meetings, quorums, and minuting of meetings.?

Some council members seldom bothered going said Mr. Dennis.

?Presumably parish councils were established to allow local input and decisions on issues of local interest.

?If people cannot be found who are interested enough in local issues, perhaps Parish Councils in some areas is an idea whose time has passed.?

Smith?s parish council chairwoman Lee Hall agreed. She said: ?Unless parish councils are given more teeth they might be organisations whose time has gone.?

She said councils were often ignored by Government when they raised issues.

She said: ?We don?t get the respect from ministries we should be able to get. When I write a letter proposing what we think should happen I would like it to be answered.?

She said at the first public meeting about the Collector?s Hill junction, which is a hot issue in Smith?s, invitations had gone to various Government departments including public works, transport and the Police.

?None of them came,? said Mrs Hall.

?That saddens me. The Commissioner of Police said an inspector would be along ? he wasn?t.?

Parish councils are active and part of the fabric of communities in England said Mrs. Hall who suggested MPs here could find them a good way of keeping in touch with local concerns.

She denied Smith?s parish council was only concerned with the Collector?s Hill junction and said it was planning a joint venture with Government to put a small park in John?s Smith Bay. The council is also pushing improve toilet facilities and install a restaurant there.

She said parish councils were entitled to a grant of around $50,000 a year from Government but Smith?s did not take it because it had its own funds. Smith?s also offers scholarships, recognises good works with prizes and helps out people wanting small amounts of money to cover emergencies.

But even Smith?s was unable to get a quorum around twice a years said Mrs. Hall. She said some people liked the prestige of being on Government boards ? despite the fact that parish councillors are unpaid ? and rarely came.

Under the Parish Councils Act 1971 the functions of Bermuda?s nine councils include maintaining recreational facilities, ?improving the well being of persons resident in the parish? and maintaining rest homes.

Mr. Dunkley said ad hoc pressure groups could be the way forward and he said it was not necessary in an island the size of Bermuda, where access to MPs and Government was easy, to have parish councils.