GORDON Brown?s stealth taxes come in many shapes and sizes these days. At the Government?s insistence West Devon Council increased its council tax by under 5% to £154.14 for the coming year. That sounds fine. The trouble is that councils have to economise sharply and put up their charges when the Government caps council tax rises in this way, and at the same time gives local authorities a whole pile of new jobs (like pub licensing). So in West Devon we have made strenuous efforts to keep bills down, kept tight control of our bills, cut back our overheads, cashed in past savings and drawn on our reserves as far as we dare. That has not been enough. We have also been obliged to review our services and the fees we are allowed to charge for them. This is why we put forward a working party?s proposals for increases in car parking charges three weeks ago and invited views on them with a deadline of March 3. Approving the overall budget does not prevent the council from reconsidering its suggestions about fees in the light of comments received. It can adjust the figures up or down provided it balances the books at the end of the day. So the proposed new levels of car parking charges are out for consultation. In parallel with internal work, business leaders and others have been invited to a meeting on March 7 for a briefing and discussion on the budget. A committee will consider responses on March 8 and I have asked for the advice of the management board on all the options before we finally tie up the whole budget. Some correspondents have asked the council to charge for use of our private car park at Kilworthy. Colleagues and I are looking at the pros and cons of this idea. One of the problems is providing facilities for our many visitors and the public of West Devon who attend our numerous meetings, such as the planning committee. High charges are as unwelcome to residents as high council taxes, but the burden of under-funded services should not fall on tax-payers alone. Cllr R F Eberlie Chairman, policy and resources committee