WE should be grateful to Cllr Gareth Dadd, of Hambleton District Council, for bringing to our attention a substantial increase in the councillors’ own allowances and a ten per cent increase in the salaries of senior staff, while other council employees receive only one pay rise (D&S Times, Mar 4).

We are fortunate to have a councillor here in Thirsk willing to put principle above party.

How is this increase justified when inflation is running at about two per cent? What extra duties, if any, were the senior officers to undertake?

Could it just be to increase the salary-related pension to be awarded in due course?

How much was the redundancy payment made to the departing chief executive?

What is to prevent him walking into another local authority job with his golden goodbye safely in his bank?

I remember the times when local councillors were unpaid, being upright citizens with community interests at heart, doing their best for local people. Local authority employees were modestly paid because they had secure jobs and received a pension and other benefits. Chief executives and other senior employees now receive, in many cases, more than the Prime Minister.

All this is funded by the local council taxpayers, most of whom do not have the benefit of regular monthly cheques and inflation-proof pensions.

Little wonder that by the time all these people have been paid there is very little left to provide the services local authorities are there to provide. The saying of ‘snouts and troughs’ comes to mind.

RM Robinson, Suttonunder-Whitestonecliffe

I WANT to congratulate you on your coverage of the recent Hambleton District Council meeting (D&S Times, Mar 4).

I am sure the vast majority of people will be appalled that councillors’ allowances and chief officers’ salaries are to go up by ten per cent.

However, what you did not say was that parking charges are to go up by more than ten per cent in some places, also on April 1.

I am sure people will not be pleased to pay these new taxes to help fund their councillors’ improved lifestyle. Surely the council workforce is more entitled to a big increase than either the councillors or the chief officers!

Brian Allison, Northallerton