I would like to comment on Cllrs Ferrari and O’Leary's recent letters on this page.

I would agree with Cllr Ferrari that we should think very carefully when we set the budget for the town next February, particularly in the current situation with Covid and the financial pressures on our residents.

It is, however, far too early to consider the budget as we have a difficult winter coming which will make budget setting for next year particularly challenging for Weymouth Town Council as well as Dorset Council unless someone has a very accurate crystal ball.

With reference to Cllr O’Leary’s letter. As he is not a Weymouth Town Councillor he may not be aware that Weymouth Town Council is a business, it is also a new council; in fact there has been no comparable council for Weymouth residents in recent times so references to any former councils in the area are irrelevant.

It is worth noting that, broadly speaking, town and parish councils have three sources of income; the precept from the residents, grants from various agencies which are for specific projects and from commercial operations. Many town and parish councils have very successful commercial arms to give them the option of either reinvesting into their towns or to enable them to keep the precept low. This is simple economics.

An example of this is that many have argued over the last year that we should have our own car parks to generate income for the town as does Swanage Town Council and other councils in Dorset. We could of course do this, however this would need to be balanced against the impact that would have on our residents and our local economy.

As Cllrs Ferrari and O’Leary are from the same ward and the same party but seem to be coming from different sides of the argument, I would urge them to talk to each other and more importantly, and more seriously, to work with all councillors of both Weymouth Town Council and Dorset Council to get the best for our residents in these difficult times.

CLLR GILL TAYLOR

Councillor for Westham West (Weymouth Town Council) and Westham (Dorset Council)