Collecting council tax is a tough job, and probably not the most popular one among Oxford residents.

Partly, this is because council tax is a grossly unfair tax, unrelated to ability to pay. This is why the national Liberal Democrats are committed to scrapping it, and replacing it with a fairer system.

It is also because residents agree with the recent judgement of the independent District Auditor on the performance of the city council that its value for money is poor, with considerable room for improvement.

This is why the new Liberal Democrat administration is committed to keeping council tax increases to an absolute minimum.

We believe the council should offer decent services to residents at a reasonable cost.

Paying any tax is never popular. But we all know that it is vital if the services on which we, as residents, rely are to be paid for.

It is also vital that everyone in Oxford who is eligible to pay council tax and there are exemptions for those on low incomes pays their fair share.

Unfortunately, the old Labour council failed to manage this basic function. In 2004-5, less than 95 per cent of council tax was collected the third worst performance of any council in the country.

This is bad news for the honest folk who manage to pay on time, as it means they end up subsidising the five per cent who defer paying, or who don't pay at all.

This is unacceptable. The Lib Dems are committed to improving the council's performance so that council tax collection gets better.

This will require a lot of hard work from all those involved, but the council owes it to Oxford's residents to succeed. Failure is not an option.

STEPHEN TALL (Councillor), Portfolio holder for better finances, Oxford City Council