JUDGING from the near apoplectic nature of some letters to your newspaper, coupled with comments on your website, our local council would appear to be held in contempt by a minority.

Hardly a week goes by without an ill-judged rebuke being contained within the pages of Readers’ Times.

Seemingly, councillors and council officials are considered fair game by the highly opinionated amongst the ranks of our citizenry who subject them to ill-found grievances.

It has been suggested that paying councillors allowances of just over £7,000 per annum is extravagant.

Well for the hard work they undertake on our behalf this is quite ludicrous. And, let us not forget, these councillors are in place by democratic means. If people don’t like their councillors, they should get off their backsides at election times and attend the polling booths.

And it is important to place allowances paid to Herefordshire’s in some perspective. All our nearest neighbours pay much higher allowances, while the Welsh authorities pay almost twice as much.

Some armchair critics might consider becoming councillors, or apply for a post as a local council official, if they meet the relevant criteria and possess the essential qualifications needed. At least then they might then see how difficult a job it is to please all the people all the time.

Past administrations depleted huge funds, yet services diminished through arrant inefficiency; so it was always going to take the present administration time to rebuild the equilibrium between low council tax and decent service levels.

This has been made more difficult by the country’s economic turmoil, and cuts in grants to local councils by central government have obviously added a huge liability to councils.

Let the council execute its invaluable functions without the need to respond repetitively to unwarranted disparagement: let us terminate these rather odious and insensitive criticisms.

Herefordshire is well placed to face the future, and I have no doubt that our council has the necessary personnel and plans to improve our status as befits a well organised county.

C M BUTLER, Kings Acre Road, Hereford.