Another council meeting, and more stories about how out of touch our residents' association-run council is with the needs of its residents (Council under fire for "expensive" mag and council "running scared" as Q&A session vetoed, February 17).

At a time when everyone is being forced to make tough financial decisions, our council seems more concerned with keeping their perks than trying to protect services.

Spending £40,000 on a propaganda mag; a chauffeur for a mayor who says he doesn't use one; and now they are running scared of their own constituents - refusing to allow public question-and-answer sessions as other councils across the country do.

When will the residents' association (RA) learn that the residents of Epsom and Ewell would rather have services than a glossy magazine?

The £40,000 would pay for the reopening of the public toilets in the borough twice over, or almost cover the annual income from the disastrous disabled parking charges brought in last year.

When asked, the RA councillors generally blame those decisions on Government spending cuts, but when their priorities are so skewed, how can they blame anyone but themselves?

In this year's elections, the RA will no doubt once again claim to be the only group "close to residents". In reality, they are alarmingly detached from the real needs of the borough.

Residents have a chance to remind them of this in May. I hope they grab it with both hands.

JAMES TARBIT
Epsom and Ewell Conservative Association