Come on, let's have a sense of perspective here: £20,000 may seem a lot of money, but it's only the cost of ten councillors attending one council meeting (councillors are paid "expenses" of £2,000 per council meeting, remember).

If you think £20,000 could be spent on better things, why not let us know exactly how much our councillors cost us, and whether you think, given the state of our roads, pavements, verges, rubbish collection and public conveniences, they represent value for money?

-Stephen Batey, sbatey@pavilion.co.uk