Sir - Of all items on the household budget, council tax is perceived as the poorest value for money but charge payers have no voice on how their money is spent.

The views of the council tax payer patently have no place in the eyes of our 'nanny knows best' local authorities and charge payers are expected merely to fund without question the bureaucrats' salaries, the allowances and expenses of local councillors and the costs of administering the democratic process.

Too much money is wasted on the top heavy bureaucratic management structure at County Hall which is replicated at all six district offices.

The present two-tier system of local government in Worcestershire is no longer fit for the purpose and is unsustainable if the cost of providing local services is to be significantly reduced.

Re-organisation of the local government structure is essential to reduce bureaucracy and sharpen the focus on front end delivery and unitary authority status for Worcestershire should be considered as an option.

Naturally, this would be opposed by those in whom we placed our trust at the ballot box since the interests of the charge payer would be insignificant to that of their animal instinct for self-preservation.

Therefore, if democracy has any place in local politics the public should have the power to decide.

Robert Hartwright

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