"No local council official is going to admit that his department or staff are a waste of space."

Maybe not - but there is no shortage of officials who, when the budgets are tight, can forcefully argue that some other departments or staff are a waste of space. The same principle applies to councillors, who also have to think about getting re-elected.

No need to be too gloomy. These organisations aren't monolithic. Like most organisations they are full of people who dislike and despise each other, and long for a chance to stab their enemies in the back, or cut them off at the knees.