In the brouhaha over MPs' expenses, it is easy to lose sight of the misuse of council taxpayers' money.

In the brouhaha over MPs' expenses, it is easy to lose sight of the misuse of council taxpayers' money. The controlling group on East Devon has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on legal fees and at least �50,000 to print and publish biased, misleading leaflets about a unitary Devon. Why don't they use their own money?It is clear that there is one tier of local government too many. We need to keep the parish and town councils because they are our first and nearest democratic contacts. Those councils must be given more powers, especially with regard to local planning matters.So, either the district councils or the county must go. Keeping the county council will, without doubt, give us financial gains and greater efficiency. There are several hundreds of district councillors and eight chief executives who are financed by us rate payers, compared to the county council which has 62 councillors and one chief executive. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians in the districts.W T H FosterSea ViewMembury