Hardly costly at about 56 pence a week

I AM writing in response to the letter from Mr Peverelle in which he seems to be calling for the abolition of Weston Town Council. Firstly I believe he is wrong to suggest the only reason the town council was formed was so that Weston was better represented. And secondly, I cannot agree the town council is costly and bureaucratic. Of each person's council tax bill, only around two per cent goes to the town council, far less than what goes to the other authorities, even less than half of the part that goes to the fire authority. It is hardly costly at about 56 pence per week nor is it bureaucratic. With a small staff, the town council can perform individual functions more efficiently. For example, when the running of Milton Road Cemetery was undertaken, the cost of running it was reduced and there was a big improvement in the maintenance.Without the town council, we wouldn't have the initiatives it has introduced such as Barcode Youth Cafe, the saving of the Blakehay and investment in the appearance of the town, and we wouldn't have the grants to small local voluntary organisations, which in many cases are a lifeline for these groups.It seems Mr Peverelle is falling into the common mistake of thinking that North Somerset Council and Weston Town Council are much the same. It may be a reasonable argument that there could be a reduction in the number of councillors on both North Somerset and the town council, which would indeed have a minor cost saving, although the danger is that the increased burden on the remaining councillors would mean either putting off good people from taking the role, or they would demand more recompense. But Mr Peverelle's suggestion of getting everyone on the voters' roll to take a turn is ridiculous. CLLR ROBERT PAYNELeader, Weston Town Council