The retired campaigners against the rising Council Tax bill should look no further than the two most obvious areas of escalating costs.

Firstly the rise and rise of local council's staff pension contributions. Councillors "nod through" the inflation proof pensions of its staff without a thought for where it is coming from. The chances are that most councillors won't be around to find the cash to pay for them in the future. Yet year on year they rise and coupled to the fact that even retired council staff are living longer, the problem is rapidly getting out of control and eventually will be unfundable.

Councils allow early retirement willy nilly of staff and it is irksome to see able bodied ex-council, NHS and teachers idling their time around our streets on fat pensions which we, the rest, have to pay for.

To identify the second reason for rising local tax, you only have to scan the situations vacant in the authority columns in the local newspapers to see the scope of some of the posts and salaries attached, to see how the whole system is out of control. What do these people do? Why do we need them? And, of course, they will be on a pension too.

Government staff both local and national have always craved for parity with the private sector, so is it not time they were exposed to the same pensions risks as the rest of us?

Frank Hare, Chapel Lane, Cradley.