ARE we supposed to be satisfied with Cheshire East’s repeated statements that the matter is under investigation, when the on-going investigations into the council’s most senior officers - chief executive Mike Suarez and chief operating officer Peter Bates, have already cost council tax payers three quarters of a million pounds?

Cheshire East Council’s former head of legal services, Bill Norman, who was also under investigation and had also been suspended, resigned in December.

Rachel Bailey’s statement in the Guardian was a repeat of this; we are following procedure.

This is just not acceptable to tax payers facing a five per cent increase in council tax this April, that our council is wasting its taxpayers money on this farce.

As a business person, if it should ever be necessary to suspend a member of staff, I would not be allowing it to drag on indefinitely, as the cost alone would break the business.

I would ensure that the investigation proceeded apace and that the individual concerned was either reinstated to get on with their job, or dismissed.

This whole matter desperately needs to be brought to a conclusion both for the sake of taxpayers funding this farce, and for the esteem of the council, who make themselves a laughing stock in Private Eye every fortnight.

Now that we have new councillors elected, just what are the elected members doing about this?

Richard Cussons Knutsford