Postbag: Proud that council puts town first

I AM proud and privileged to be an elected member of Huntingdon Town Council. We have recently had to make a very hard decision to increase our Council Tax precept.

I have been a member of this council since 1999 and I can assure the people of Huntingdon that we do not take extra taxes just for the sake of it. Anyone who has been living in the town over the last few years will know that we did not increase our precept for three consecutive years. However, the people of Huntingdon demand the best they can get for their taxes from us.

We were the first Quality Status town council in Cambridgeshire and we have continually fought to provide better services for our residents. However, residents also demand more services from us. Sadly we need money to be able to do this.

Over the last few years we have invested in many projects within our town to enhance the town and provide the services the townsfolk require. There is much more to come. This town hasn't had so much investment for many years.

Everyone speaks well of our organising of the special celebrations for our 800 years charter anniversary. We want to build on that success for all people in Huntingdon and for their friends and relatives who may visit. We want to make this a town to be proud of.

Our precept increase for the next year works out to less than an extra 2p per day. It is not a lot to pay to retain the vast majority of the existing services we provide.

Councillors at Huntingdon Town Council have refused to accept any payment for the work we all do on your behalf and, certainly since 1999, none of us have received a councillor's allowance, although the Government say we should pay ourselves. If we did accept allowances, that would put the Council Tax up much further.

Councillor JEFF DUTTON, Huntingdon Town Council