I do believe that the Councillors are, by and large, in it for more than their minimum £10,000.00 per year and to be honest I don't envy their position when trying to make savings in the face of cuts to the budget. This doesn't mean that they don't sometimes get it wrong or that they could not at times approach matters more sensitively and with a modicum of common sense instead of, for example, adopting a one-size-fits-all approach with the wheelies. In any case, I am a bit confused as to who actually makes these decisions - presumably it is officers at the Council while the Councillors are representatives of the people and how these two 'bodies' inter-relate I'm not too sure - please explain further if you know.