WEST Somerset Council's attempts to improve its image took a nose-dive this week following a less than complementary parting shot from a former employee. The Free Press has obtained a copy of an email sent to all staff and destined for all councillors but only received by some, which accuses the authority of operating in a climate of "image, spin and change" to the detriment of many of the people it should be serving. Earlier this year, the council embarked on a cost- cutting exercise which resulted in a total of eight of the 140 staff accepting voluntary redundancy or early retirement. At the start of the process in February chief executive Tim Howes said the job losses were due to a heavy investment in information technology which had resulted in efficiency savings of around £125,000 - two and a half per cent of the council's £5 million net revenue budget. Reducing staff numbers and encouraging remaining employees to focus on the council's priorities and work differently was a way of cashing in on those savings. But there has been concern amongst some staff and councillors of the impact on services and the pressures on the remaining workforce which many believe had already been pared to the bone in the last major round of job-cuts four years ago. At the same time, staff and councillors are being asked to embrace a new initiative, Destination 06, aimed at modernising and improving the authority in the wake of the 'weak' rating for overall performance it was given by external inspectors just under two years ago. The clearly less than happy emailing employee, who worked in the benefits department but is not believed to have been among those taking voluntary redundancy or early retirement, obviously shares the concerns. In his missive - believed to have been sent last Friday - he talked of the effect of the changes on staff morale, the impact of the loss or departmental "shuffling" of staff and the yawning gap between the image the council attempts to portray to the public and the reality of the situation. "I will be sorry to leave many of the friends and colleagues I've had the privilege of working alongside but definitely not sorry to leave the job itself, especially under the circumstances we are now expected to tolerate," he said. "One of the main strengths we possessed as a local authority was the fact we were, and still are, one of the smallest councils in the country, therefore an integral part of the community we are here to assist. "The people we serve are the very people we live next door to - unfortunately that basic fact seems to have been sacrificed in the present climate of image, spin and change." The employee went on to highlight the situation in the benefits department where he claimed a total of seven key members of staff had been lost in the last six months. "These include our departmental head and two senior assessors who together had a combined benefit knowledge of in excess of 40 years. "These skills are near impossible to replace and the detrimental effect on the most vulnerable members of our society are already being felt. "Morale has suffered considerably and the stress levels among the remaining staff have increased accordingly, in line with the huge additional workload they now have to contend with. "If only the people who made these decisions were to receive some of the abusive comments that as benefit staff we have to contend with on a daily basis, perhaps they would eventually grasp the essence of what we're up against. "I will genuinely miss many of my colleagues and sincerely hope that before it's too late they receive both the support and recognition they deserve for the way they continue to handle their duties, both professionally and efficiently, in these impossible times." The employee signs off his email by saying: "Stop the bus, I'm getting off." Asked to comment on the email, council spokesman Stacey Beaumont said: "A formal investigation is underway into the origins of this email but we are not prepared to comment on it at this time given that some of its contents may result in legal action."