IN A recent issue of the Citizen you kindly published my comments upon the lack of management skills in local councils in general and of the last administration here in Lancaster and Morecambe in particular.

This was followed up in you letters page, under the heading 'Lodge a Complaint.' by one of your readers, a Mr Lodge, who told us that he had been a councillor at some time in the past. He served for 30 years so we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of his comments. He told us, in so many words, that when he and his colleagues were in office they did their best to serve those they represented but it seems they were unable to prioritise, or reconcile conflicting demands for resources, or to assess how much to charge customers, or to decide whether or not to hire another dog warden. He also revealed that councillors will never make the right decisions for everybody.

The story is all too familiar, I'm afraid, but it's heartening to hear somebody with first hand experience make such a strong case for reform and more professionalism in local service management. We might differ in our choice of words but at least we're on the same side.

Fred Webster, Lancaster

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