IN last Thursday's edition you reported that Chippenham Town Councillors have voted to pay themselves 'participation' and other allowances.

What a sad day for local democracy when local councillors expect to be paid for doing something which they should be doing out of a sense of public duty.

As both a former councillor and mayor, I believe you put yourself up for election because you have a genuine interest in your town and are prepared to do your utmost to improve the quality of life for everyone who lives, works or shops there. You do not (nor should you) do so because there may be a "few bob in it".

Being a town councillor is both an honour and a most rewarding experience. The electorate have put their trust in you and look to you to take (sometimes) difficult decisions on their behalf. That trust should not be sullied by any suspicion that our local politicians are "only in it for the money". Yes, it can occasionally be a very frustrating experience and can sometimes involve reading and understanding detailed documents. However, the workload is not that onerous when compared to some other voluntary organisations where there is no payment.

There are 22 elected town councillors which should be more than enough to deal with the work of even a large town council like Chippenham. Could the problem here be that perhaps not all our councillors are prepared to pull their weight? Would paying them a 'participation allowance' make them more conscientious?

I have every respect for the councillors mentioned in your report. Both Sandie Webb and June Wood work extremely hard for the local community. They didn't however go into local politics because there was money on offer, but because of a belief they could make a real difference.

That is (or should be) the only reason for wanting to be elected to a town or parish council. Once you start paying people to be a councillor you change the whole ethos and start attracting those with interests not necessarily conducive to the public good.

Leaving aside the fact that the cost of these allowances will appear on our council tax bills, I don't want to see the day when prospective councillors are enticed by the money rather than what they personally have to offer.

That well known voluntary organisation Rotary has the motto "service above self" and this should apply equally to our town councillors.

What do other readers think?

R MEEK

Monkton Park

Chippenham