A FORMER Mayor of Haslemere has lashed out against "empire building, over-inflated egos" and in-fighting among town councillors.

John Sugden, of Kingsley Green, who served as mayor of the town from 1979 to 1980, has criticised town councillors in a letter to The Herald for their "talk of increased rates to pay for more office staff and even a mayor's secretary."

"It seems that some egos are becoming over-inflated," said Mr Sugden in his letter.

"How sad it is to read almost every week of in-fighting among members of Haslemere Town Council."

Earlier this month, the outgoing Mayor of Haslemere, Michael Barnes, asked councillors to consider increasing the town's council tax precept by £100,000. He also called for the mayor's allowance to be increased by almost £2,000 a year.

Mr Barnes claimed this would enable the council to increase staffing levels at the Town Hall by almost a third, from its present 72 hours to 110 hours, and help to fund community projects.

But Mr Sugden said: "In my day on the town council we had a town clerk, and that was it. There was no mayor's allowance and certainly no secretary.

"I wrote and answered all correspondence myself. I was not even retired, but a busy retailer in the town," said Mr Sugden, who is the chairman of the Haslemere Hall and the former owner of a toyshop in the town.

"Have the mayor's duties and responsibilities increased over the last 20 years?" asks Mr Sugden.

"Of course they have not," he declares in his letter.

"Those of us who were honoured to be elected (as mayor) by our fellow councillors paid for everything out of our own pocket. The only exception was the annual civic dinner," said Mr Sugden.

"So what is the justification for this proposed extra spending?" he asks. "I sense some empire building here."

Mayors, believes Mr Sugden, "should restrict themselves to acting as an ambassador by putting themselves about in the town, and supporting local organisations", adding that "all decisions should be made in the council chamber".

"After all, at local level in Haslemere a 'mayor' is only a fancy title for "chairman of the parish council".

"That cuts it down to size!" concluded Mr Sugden.

Defending the calls for increased staffing, town clerk Mike O'Neill said: "Two full- time members of staff at Haslemere works fine provided the work is static, but you can't increase the workload to such an extent that these people have to work in their spare time to catch up."

Mr O'Neill went on to comment that administrative work loads vary with different mayors.

"Some mayors are geared up for administration but you get others who are used to a different regime where they have had typists and secretaries," added Mr O'Neill.

Haslemere's newly elected mayor Stephen Mulliner declined to comment on Mr Sugden's letter.