Please allow me to reply to the personal attack in last week's letters. It was my choice to set aside a day per week (sometimes more) and to spend many hours with paperwork, phone calls, emails, visits knowing the amount of money I would receive to help with this work.

I represent local views and make recommendations to the council via committees whose aims are to reduce council expenditure; balance out where to spend the council tax raised (there is never enough); plan future development in Kennet; make the district more disabled-friendly; increase recycling and minimise waste; resolve current and future issues. This is excluding the full council meetings.

Being self-employed and the major breadwinner, I book dates months in advance, although many of my colleagues are helpful and will swap. Everyone must find a balance between responsibilities. Daytime meetings certainly make it more difficult for professionals with commitments extra money helps very little.

You can see on the Kennet website the agenda and papers for the last full council meeting. The independent advisors' and the members' panels recommended a 2.8 per cent rise and there is nothing to indicate the leading party's intention to ram through the pay hike. So I missed out on the chance to add my name to the list of objectors.

If voters want things to change, reduce the majorities of the local

Tories and the Labour Government.

K Callow

LibDem councillor

Roundway