THE elections are coming; the grease is getting fat. Last week Mike Bell promised to keep council tax increase below 4.9 per cent this coming year. Why the care? Why the largesse? Could it be that there is an election in May? He tells us that he is lookin

THE elections are coming; the grease is getting fat.Last week Mike Bell promised to keep council tax increase below 4.9 per cent this coming year. Why the care? Why the largesse? Could it be that there is an election in May? He tells us that he is looking at the budget right now. Perhaps he should look closely at what his officers are doing behind his back.In October 2006, council officers struck a two-year deal on the cost of electricity for street lighting at a reported 8.7p per unit. Calculations which take account of lighting up times compared with off-peak electricity periods indicate that Economy 7 was a better answer. If Alan Hockridge and John Crockford-Hawley had exercised better control over their wayward officers, they could have saved us £200,000.Surely even JCH can understand that it is easier to switch tariffs than switch off the lights!JULIAN PARRYVictoria Park, Weston