WE are constantly being told by our various councils that money is short and there must be cutbacks etc. I was under the impression that when money is short it is a good thing to spend what little there is on essentials.

This does not seem to have been taken on board by those who actually spend our money.

Was it absolutely necessary to make signs and send men out to fix them to lampposts to inform us that the council is going to turn some street lights out between midnight and 5am (approximately)? Did the council think that they would be inundated with calls from frightened ratepayers suddenly plunged into the twilight zone? A total waste.

Was it absolutely necessary to replace the slot machines in the council’s parking areas? The old ones were a bit slow but seemed to take my money without any trouble. The new ones are just as slow but the design is worse.

The new machines need two hands to operate and there are three different coloured buttons to choose from just to get a ticket. It is so complicated that there are written instructions on each machine. If an instruction sheet is needed for such a simple sequence then there is something basically wrong.

I have seen machines into which you can pay any amount and a ticket will be issued for the period of time you have bought. That would be an improvement worth paying for. If the old machines really were worn out why were they not replaced with something up-to-date instead of with this retrograde design?

PAT LADD Holt