KEN Beavan resorts to insulting York's Liberal Democrat administration because he appears to know few of the facts surrounding York's financial situation and performance and seemingly cares less (Letters, February 4).
Fact 1: In a league table of 352 councils in England, York has the tenth lowest council tax - the lowest outside the London area.
Fact 2: Live anywhere in North Yorkshire in a house having the same council tax band as your present house and you will pay more in council tax.
Fact 3: York has had to make some difficult spending decisions against a background of a relatively low Government support grant compared with other councils.
Fact 4: The actual amount of cash York has available to spend per man, woman and child in the city is the lowest of any council in England.
Fact 5: Despite all the above constraints, York is an efficient council which recently received a rating of "good" from independent assessors and left us only a couple of points away from being rated as "excellent".
York's Liberal Democrat council has many exciting modernisation plans, some announced and some in the pipeline, to make York a far more efficient council than it is today so that it will become one of the very best in the country.
We will not be deflected by Conservative Party jeering and spin.
Coun Quentin Macdonald,
Executive member resources,
Church Lane,
Nether Poppleton,
York
Updated: 10:35 Thursday, February 10, 2005
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