Judging by the way Messrs Bodfish and Oxley spend our pounds as if they were going out of fashion, anyone would think Gordon Brown was in charge of the council's finances.

Still, at least a wrecked local economy will help Brighton and Hove converge with the eurozone - trailblazing for Britain, as per usual.

Why does it cost Brighton and Hove City Council more than three times as much to collect a ton of rubbish as it does in our three neighbouring authorities - Adur, Mid-Sussex and Lewes?

That's before you count the cost of disposal, set to skyrocket when the Newhaven dioxin plant gets built.

It's high time we had an independent audit of our public services and a full account of local authority expenditure published monthly on the internet, including the cost of each executive tea break and how it benefited the residents.

-Ian Hills, Brighton