Justify the latest rates increase call

SIR, As a Ballymoney ratepayer I would just like someone from the Council to explain to me how they can justify one of the biggest increases in rates in Northern Ireland.

They do so without consultation; without any due regard to what the ratepayer wants and without any thought about the plight of those whose circumstances have been hit badly by the current recession.

I use to put my bin out once a week and now it's twice a week - a reduction in services without any thought given to a family with children and all the waste items they generate.

What services does the Council really provide and what have they done in Stranocum? Not a great deal.

I take my child down to Coleraine swimming pool not only because it's warmer, but because there are slides and he enjoys it far better than Ballymoney.

Ballymoney is a town that has lost much of its manufacturing base and shops are struggling to cope with the recession.

The council owe us an explanation, and I await to see which party comes forward with an explanation.

Yours etc., Jim Wright.