How much will it cost to dispose of our rubbish?

MADAM, The obsequious letter this week from Councillor Jarvis about rubbish collection begins to worry me, because we are approaching the time when the community tax for next year must be settled. So how are folk to judge the effectiveness of this 'service'?

The gross expenditure for waste collection and disposal in the budgets for the three years from 2003 to 2006 averaged £10.4 million. The three years from 2006 to 2009 averaged £13.6 million. This is not a good start, because it was considerably more than anybody's measure of inflation. The following year, the system changed, and we would be wise to reserve judgement.

However, it will not be long before we know exactly what Councillor Jarvis is going to ask us for, and we must judge him on that.

Keith Horne, Gorsley