I KNOW its very easy to run the finances of a county - or even a country- when you’re sitting comfortably in the safety of your living room and in the course of over 30 years in local journalism I’ve developed a huge respect for those who have the courage of their convictions and leave that safety zone to take up increasingly difficult to fill council seats.

Admittedly it’s a much better paid role than it was 50 odd years ago when we used to gather at the gates of the polling station singing ‘Vote, vote, vote for Joseph Brinley…’ at the top of our voices as my grandfather fought for his seat on Nantyglo and Blaina Urban District Council, but it still takes a lot to commit to serving your community - and take the plaudits and the brickbats it entails.

Every year when the council budget is released it takes mere minutes for the barrage of criticism to be unleashed as those - often with vested interests in a sector - debate the wisdom of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on something they deem unwarranted.

“Why should we fund garden waste collections?” ask those with gardens big enough to compost… “why are we wasting money on leisure centres?” ask those who would never grace a treadmill… “why are we paying for a theatre?” decry those who have never watched a play…the list goes on and by and large each argument has some merit.

We can all accept that money is tight. That the Welsh Government doesn’t give Monmouthshire much to play with and that the UK Government is equally careful with its cash and that costs are ever rising...

And then, as the debate rages over whether this service or that should face cuts and redundancies over tens of thousands of pounds comes the news that Monmouthshire County Council appears to have flagrantly wasted in the region of £60,000 on building a fence and then removing it because nobody wanted a barrier which could be seen from space.

Yes, there are idiots in the world who refuse to heed warning signs and lesser barriers in their blind determination to drive across a road which has been designated as dangerous…and we accept the words of the beleaguered council officer who said a fatal accident on the unsafe road above Clydach would be devastating…but to pander to this minority at such a cost with council taxpayers’ money is beyond belief.

And where does it stop? You put up a sign; someone ignores it. You put boulders across the entrance to the road; someone moves them. You build a fence; someone drives over it…and all the time more and more money which could be used for the common good is diverted into keeping a few idiots safe rather than funding free garden waste collections for 1,200 residents or providing music lessons in schools or teaching our children to swim.

Like I said when you’re sitting with a cup of coffee and gearing up for a rant…solution to any issue is as clear to see as a six foot silver fence across the face of a mountain.