Tax rises suggest a need for supervision

It seems that I may have upset our local Lib Dem councillor Sarah Boad, when I queried the need for, and the way in which the road surface was resurfaced in Crown Way, Lillington. That was certainly not my intent, in fact when I wrote my letter I neither mentioned the Lib Dems nor Mrs Boad.

For the record I believe Mrs Boad works both hard and to the best of her ability. I have in fact voted for her myself on occasion.

However as a pensioner paying over £1,000 per year in council tax I think I have a right to an opinion as to how that money is spent. The Lib Dems may send out thousands of leaflets per year, whilst I chose to express my humble opinion via the Courier’s letters page.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I was merely trying to make the point, that the way in which some councillors seem to see their primary purpose as harrying council departments to undertake work,and spend money in their own area, may not provide best value for hard pressed council taxpayers. Can anyone say hand on heart,that they believe every penny they pay in council tax is properly and wisely spent, without any element of waste. Certainly I don’t believe so, and I think even most council employees would not claim so either.

The resurfacing of Crown Way appears to have been undertaken purely because of pressure from Lib Dem councillors. The cost of about £75,000 may not be much in the scale of things, but it does mean that 75 households have had to find £1,000 each to fund it.

The finished job is fine, but it really wasn’t that bad before. Even the council’s roads department admitted that the road surface in Buckley Road was worse and it remains so.

The question is should a councillor merely seek to ensure that spending is directed to their area,or should they, as I believe, have a more serious purpose and seek to exercise their authority over the finances, management/staffing etc of the council. The way in which council tax has risen inexorably for years,and well ahead of inflation, suggests that some proper supervision is well overdue. - David Brown, Sandown Close, Lillington.

Related topics: