The SNP council’s budget last month was a long drawn-out process.

It started in November when they cut 45 full-time posts to save £2.2million this year, £3m next year, and £3m the following year.

For most ordinary people this would be too much, but for the SNP it was only the start.

The SNP had promised to consult the public on their cuts but changed their mind and instead opted to deliver their “fait accomplis” which meant a massive hike in charges to local residents, community groups and businesses to scoop an extra £638,000 into the council coffers.

They called their new initiative “commercialisation”.

The SNP’s charges were applied to both the council and the Health and Social Care Partnership and include increasing special uplifts by 10 per cent, increasing the cost of the care of garden scheme, and increasing municipal golf charges by 24 per cent.

Day care charges, community alarms, and transport charges for elderly and disabled people were also subjected to inflation-busting increases and there is a real risk that vulnerable people will be left isolated because of the increased cost.

Young people were also targeted for increased charges with hikes above the rate of inflation to the cost of early years services, musical tuition and dance classes.

In 2012, the American Vice President Joe Biden famously said: “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I will tell you what you value.”

It makes me wonder why the SNP cancelled their public consultation because I’m sure that they would have got a good turn-out from members of our our communities.

I think the SNP councillors don’t value our municipal golf courses and don’t value the community clubs associated with them.

They don’t value our pensioners and the services that they rely on to help prevent them becoming isolated.

And it seems that they don’t value the opinion of the people of Clydebank.

It wasn’t all bad news, though, it seems. The SNP administration in Glasgow championed by Bailie Agnew has set up a friendship with Letterkenny in Donegal on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland.

I hear the weather is very nice there in July.