I would like to see an increase in Council Tax

If a private company costs £2.25m less than the council service and yet will be making a tidy profit, no doubt, why does the council run service (which has no need to make a profit) cost so much more?

Perhaps the council could start economies by all working as volunteers, as they are asking others to do.

Why does leader of the council Sean Anstee need £40,000 a year?

Councillors should work for the benefit of the community, not as a profession.

They do not need to be paid large sums of money to attend meetings; these can be arranged to fit in with their normal day-time employment.

If they do not like this, then why become a councillor?

A recent programme showed that a northern council had cut waste collection to once every three weeks and bins were overflowing.

It seems that councils have no concern for public health.

We are turning back the clock to pre-Victorian times when rubbish was left to rot in the streets and typhoid, cholera and TB were hazards of everyday living.

I would rather see an increase in Council Tax, if this ensured a decent regular system of waste collection, regular cleaning of drains, and roads and pavements which did not represent a hazard to life and limb.

David Olliver, address supplied