My surprise at the appointment of Councillor Melton

THE Milky Bar Kid in charge of finance at FDC? You ve got to be joking. I wouldn t trust him with our Grandson s piggy bank. This is the man who, when he was Leader, forced through one of the biggest council tax rises in the country at something like 14

THE 'Milky Bar Kid' in charge of finance at FDC? You've got to be joking. I wouldn't trust him with our Grandson's piggy bank.

This is the man who, when he was Leader, forced through one of the biggest council tax rises in the country at something like 14per cent and then had to eat humble pie when the Government stepped in and capped the rise.

Forcing the council to spend tax payer's money on re-issuing revised notices.

An unrepentant Cllr Melton tried to laugh off his total misjudgement of the public mood, by saying the rise was only the equivalent of a bar of chocolate for each person but he was the one who finished up with chocolate all over his face.

I'm not surprised to hear that he was given this nice perk worth �8,649 pa on top of his basic councillors allowance of �4,133 plus expenses and subsistence, at the home of the leader of the council.

It seems to me we have a district council run on the lines of 'what Harper wants Harper gets', with most of the important decisions made by him behind closed doors or at clandestine meetings at the Conservative Club rather than in the council chamber where these things should be raised.

The fact that Cllr Melton wasn't prepared to stand up and commit himself to ending the lunatic arrangement with Mat Taylor the ex finance chief, speaks volumes to me about his custody of our finances.

REG KEMP

March