[jaysay]

I actually think that it would be wrong for any councillor being out of pocket when attending to council business, be it staying in an hotel or claiming money for having to miss work, if you are in full time employment you cannot expect the boss to pay you when your not there. If councillors were out of pocket going their duties the only people we would get as councillors would be people on long term sick or retired people, which to my mind would be very counter productive. When I first got involved in politics 40 odd years ago, all meetings were held at night, well they were in Ossy, because I attended regularly, and councillors were NOT paid for their attendance. Okay its a different kettle of fish today, but I've always been of the opinion that we should have fewer councillors but make them full time, then we may attract more people into local government,which would be great for the Borough overall.