I CANNOT help being curious about recent figures published concerning council taxes and rent arrears in Bury.

Can someone with an objective, unbiased interest in the running of our town answer a few basic questions?

1: Is £1.808 million in rent arrears a sum too insignificant for our council to seriously address and to rectify? I find it an astonishing figure!

2: Is it acceptable and reasonable for Bury people's council taxes to be raised by 7.7 per cent - 3 per cent above the Government's guidelines? For extra improvements to services some might say that it is OK as a one-off.

3: Is my maths correct in concluding that the money remaining uncollected from rents well outweighs the £1.5 million extra revenue available from raising council taxes (provided everyone pays)? Perhaps it would be too naive of me to suggest rent payments be enforced to pay for the improvements.

4: Why was a councillor apparently "gagged" or prevented from rightly drawing attention to this £1.808 million in rent arrears? It is more important than any "technicality".

We are all entitled to an explanation, and greater diligence by the council to see that rent payers and home owners alike pay their dues by the same rules. It might just save having to raise taxes and council rents.

TIM BOADEN,

Seedfield Road,

Bury.

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