I AM appalled at the audacity of our cash strapped council, attempting to hold what amounts to a referendum of the citizens of York to decide what cuts should be made to accommodate the £1 million shortfall in the city finances (You choose, The Press, January 7).

How on earth are we expected to make a valued and reasoned judgement about some of the suggested areas of cutbacks, without an overall and detailed view of every single area of performance of every single council department and operations?

To me this is cheap politics. We elect councillors to take decisions on our behalf, popular or not.

They may dress this up as "consultation", but when the choice is made, do not attempt to blame the voters by saying: "Please sir, it wasn't me sir, it was them sir."

At what cost is this leaflet campaign, I wonder.

Councillors put themselves up for election, they should get on and do what they were elected to do and try not to waste any more money.

J Cook, Cherry Street, York.


* City of York Council is looking into cutting some services to save some money, and is at a loss as to what to do for the best.

My solution would be to reuse some of the office staff who have accumulated over the years, supervisors and upwards. Some do very little, but get paid for more than they are worth.

As for saving £17,000 by cutting spending on a chewing gum remover, I could not agree more, as it is very rarely in use at all.

As for cutting services, why should York tax payers suffer the consequences because the council cannot get its budget right?

P Markwick, Forge Close, Jockey Lane, York.


* I READ, with interest, the article on the expenditure of City of York Council and the choices that will have to be made regarding where to spend our funds.

However, can I ask your readers, did anyone see the Christmas tree which the council paid £21,000 for only two years ago?

This tree, in the past two years, has been situated in the area of the fountain, but for some reason it has disappeared this year and I don't think anyone has noticed. Thus the council are "off the hook", or so it seems.

I did phone the council and ask where it was and was told by someone it had only been rented, but I still have the copy of the letter from them telling me it was purchased. Is this a way of covering up their mistake, I wonder?

Sylvia Dunn, Rutland Close, Copmanthorpe, York.


* Following on from my letter (Parking principles, January 8), I read in disbelief how the council needs to make savings of £1 million for the next year.

We all are aware that budgets must be set and kept under, but just where are some of these suggested savings coming from?

For the council to save money maybe it should start in-house, for example, all the staff who work in administration.

It may be unkind to think of cutting the vast wage bill that the council produces, but streamlining and cutting out unnecessary staff soon starts to add up. For example, 25 people at £20,000 a year equals half the savings.

Let the councillors lead by example and plump for a wage cut rather than have a wage rise.

Will closing a swimming pool one day a week or stop scraping chewing gum from the street really make a difference? I think not.

Get into the real world and make some real savings.

Gary Mitchell, The Groves.


* WITH reference to the list of proposals to save £1 million in City of York's council coffers, and where the cutbacks may have to be implemented, when it comes to the people's choice, is this not a double-edged sword?

On the one hand, it is refreshing that the public has its say in the matter by way of a referendum, one might say - or is it a copout by our councillors, or a clandestine move for devolution, or are we to become independent, with our own parliament, a bloodless coup?

The choices laid before us, when considering priorities, seem to be health and safety issues, inevitable job losses, damage to educational facilities in all their forms, and, last but not least, leisure and pleasure facilities.

However, with one item listed, highways and footways, there has been no change there for the last few years.

There has been a steady decline in road resurfacing, where roads and footpaths have been neglected, and when relaid substandard materials have been used, potholes have been filled in and disintegrated overnight, which in the end resembles a patchwork quilt, the outcome being that the cheapest solution is not always best in financial terms.

Are we also led to assume that any savings will be deducted from our community charge, or am I being too optimistic?

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.


A City of York Council spokesperson said: "The budget consultation is not a referendum and does not replace decisions by councillors. It is designed to inform those decisions.

"The leaflet that is being delivered to every household is just one of the ways the council is trying to get people's views on the budget.

"We also use the council's annual residents' opinion survey to understand residents' priorities, as well as the recent budget seminar where residents and businesses looked at the shortfall in the council's budget in detail.

"Finally, the questionnaire is asking for opinions only on the last £1 million the council needs to save - we have already identified a range of savings amounting to £7 million."