OVER the past year and in particular the past few weeks I have read, with interest, the letters page of your newspaper. It is rare that I write a reply. On this occasion my name has been mentioned in a letter and I have no alternative but to rebut the comments made by Mr Dale Heenan of Taw Hill (EA Feb 20).

Mr Heenan, I am not in the Cabinet so I am not clear as to why you suggest that I am a 'lead member'.

If you had ever bothered to make my acquaintance you just might become aware that I have always stood up for the residents that I represent.

If you had bothered to make my acquaintance Mr Heenan, I would have informed you that last year I warned and advised the then leader of the Council and other councillors that a 15 per cent rise would be difficult to defend particularly as more than likely we would have to raise the council tax by the same amount the following year.

I would also advise you that living roughly in the same area as you Mr Heenan I too will be paying well over £1,000 in council tax. The consensus of everyone is that it will be painful, but you cannot run a council as large as ours on a shoestring.

When anyone grumbles about tax and particularly council tax I sometimes wonder whether they are aware of the diversity of the services they pay for.

Do you know Mr Heenan, you pay for the free nursery school based at Moredon Infant School, the Magistrates Court, Trading Standards, Fire Brigade, Pensions and Police? We collect £78 million in business tax and it used to be ours to spend which was why we were good at attracting business to the town but now just £56 million is returned to us.

Every town has ups and downs. This town has for the past 30 years at least been a successful town under a Labour administration.

Do you know Mr Heenan that this will be a successful council once again because of the determination of those councillors, like myself, who have been deeply disappointed that we have been unable to maintain that level of success?

Do you know Mr Heenan that on March 5 at 6pm there is a cabinet meeting? On that evening is the report from the Independent Review Panel on Councillors' Allowance chaired by Professor Jim James Cranfield University (no relation by the way). It makes interesting reading page 48, para 5.13: "We issued two press statements, invited interested members of the public to write to us with their views. Somewhat disappointingly to date only two letters have been received from members of the public."

Do you know Mr Heenan that there is an Area Panel Meeting on March 6 at 7pm at the Civic Offices?

Will you be there to participate in the debate Mr Heenan?

Thus Mr Heenan you do not know me and I finish by paraphrasing John F Kennedy's inauguration speech: "think not of what Swindon can do for you, but what you can do for Swindon."

I have been a councillor for the Moredon Ward for the past 15 years fighting for the residents I represent. What have you been doing for Moredon and Swindon Mr Heenan?

COUN MAUREEN CATON

(Moredon Ward)