More cuts but council tax will stay frozen

First published by: The Reporter

BUDGET proposals which will see another £24m cut have been approved by the borough’s councillors.

Only a handful of opposition members voted against the budget proposed by the ruling Labour group which will see a further £24m in savings as the council looks to save £66m by 2014/15 as Government grants are brutally axed.

This will equate to £400 less to spend per borough household.

The council’s pledge to minimise the impact on vital front-line services means the largest share of further job losses would come from a 30 per cent cut in the ‘back office’ such as public relations, finance and legal services which would save around £6.9m.

This is on top of back-office cuts made last year which included a saving of £1.3m by reducing the number of directors and cutting the chief executive’s salary.

An estimated £5.7m will be saved by the council’s driving a harder bargain over contracts such as waste management, transport and leisure activities. Charges for parking within council controlled areas would be increase to off-set where possible.

However, when addressing councillors at Wednesday nights meeting, the council leader Lord Smith said that despite the tough measures, the council would be investing in apprenticeships for young people and that Council Tax prices would be frozen.

He said: “We will invest £100,000 in apprenticeships for young people in the borough as it is they who are the most affected by the current economic plight. Many of us remember the scenes of the 1980s and we do not want to see young people being rejected and workless.

“We are saving more now as it certainly looks as if past 2015 there will be even further reductions to be made.”

Independent Coun Gary Wilkes, leader of the opposition, said: “This level of cuts is happening too fast and too soon.

“The council is too big. Leigh should have its own council which would benefit the people of both Wigan and Leigh.”

The proposals were broadly supported by the Conservatives who said that because of the broader strategy they had to support the budget.

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PAY COUNCIL TAX BY DIRECT DEBIT AND WIN £25K

First Published by: The Observer

A £25,000 cash incentive is being offered to Brent and Harrow residents in a bid to get them to pay their Council Tax bills by Direct Debit.

Brent Council has announced the council tax prize draw, which is being offered in conjunction with BACS Payment Schemes Ltd, the not-for-profit organisation behind Direct Debit.

Brent and Harrow councils are among 17 local authorities taking part in the scheme, and only one person will win the draw. Households are starting to receive their council tax bills for 2012/13 this week. 

To be entered into the draw Brent residents must register to pay their council tax bill by Direct Debit before 5pm on July 12 this year.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Brent Council's lead member for finance and corporate resources, said: "Direct Debit is a much cheaper way for us to process payments and the money we save can be used for the benefit of local residents in delivering services.

"We're encouraging as many people as possible to look out for the prize draw information included, switch to Direct Debit and be in with the chance of winning the £25,000. It's simple to switch by phone or on our website."

Anyone wanting to enter can return a completed paper Direct Debit instruction form to Brent Council, which can be downloaded at www.brent.gov.uk/counciltax

Residents who already pay their council tax bill by Direct Debit will be automatically entered into the prize draw for the £25,000 prize.

The prize will be drawn on July 17.

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Council tax freeze in South Bucks despite £80k Olympic bill

First Published by: Free Press

SOUTH Bucks District Council has frozen its portion of the Council Tax despite having to set aside £80,000 for the Olympic events at Dorney Lake.

Though the council is not paying to stage the actual rowing and kayaking events, it has factored in the costs of extra demand for its services.

Extra spending is expected to go on environmental health staff, including on-call and emergency arrangements, as well as street cleaning and refuse collection.

Meanwhile, the council tax freeze means the annual charge for an average Band D home in the district, which covers Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross, will stay at £143 for the next financial year.

Leader Adrian Busby said this was ‘very good news’ for residents, saying it was achieved through "the constant search for efficiency savings and additional revenue streams". This would mean increases in local parking charges and alike; But he added: "I wish I could stand here this evening anticipating that the worst is over and things were financially on the up.

"Unfortunately I do not believe that is the case. We are facing further reductions in Government funding, significant uncertainty over the new scheme for retention of business rates, changes in the benefits regime, and continuing low interest rates on cash investments."

An average home in the district will be charged a total council tax bill for the year of £1,489. Most of this goes to Buckinghamshire County Council.

For Beaconsfield residents, £43 of this average bill will go to the town council, which froze its parish precept. Gerrards Cross Parish Council also froze its precept, charging an average home £45 for the year.

Stoke Poges Parish Council, which stunned villagers with a 107 per cent increase last year, has also opted for a freeze.

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Council tax cut by 1% in Stirling

First Published by: BBC News

Stirling Council has become the only local authority in Scotland to cut council tax after councillors passed a budget on their second attempt.

The 1% cut, effective from 1 April, will see Band D Council Tax go down £12 from £1,209 to £1,197 a year.

Labour and Tory councillors voted the measure through in an "alternative" budget, after rejecting the minority SNP administration's proposals.

The SNP group called the cut "fiscally imprudent" and "irresponsible".

Liberal Democrat councillors also voted against the council tax cut, which amounts to a saving of 23p a week for the average household. The Lib Dem group leader Graham Reed said it was a "cynical" vote-grabber ahead of the council elections on 3 May.

It is the first council to cut its tax rate for four years.

All other local authorities in Scotland have frozen Council Tax for the coming year as part of an agreement with the Scottish government. Stirling Council's first meeting to agree a budget on 16 February ended in failure as Labour group councillors voted against their own amendment after accusing the SNP of "stealing" their alternative budget.

Labour was supported in its rejection of the budget by Conservative councillors.

When councillors reconvened for a second attempt to set a budget, an amendment proposed by Labour and backed by the Conservatives again set out an "alternative" budget.

When this amendment was passed it became the substantive motion - and so effectively Stirling Council's budget for 2012/13. Insults were traded across the floor in an ill-tempered meeting that at one point led to Provost Fergus Wood ordering two councillors - one Conservative and one SNP - to "sit down and shut up, both of you".

Scott Farmer, who proposed the SNP's budget, said his group had made "repeated approaches" to Labour group leader Corrie McChord in an attempt to reach a consensus over the budget.

"He [Mr McChord] could not bring himself to sign up to anything proposed by the SNP," he told the chamber. "Selling whatever principles he ever had to jump into bed with the Tories - what an insult to his party."

Mr Farmer added that it was "not the time" to be cutting council tax and said Mr McChord should "hang his head in shame". But the Labour group leader called Mr Farmer's argument "bunkum" and rejected claims that the party's amendment was "imprudent".

"In the last two or three years we have supported cuts in council tax because it had grown more than in other areas of Scotland", he said - adding that his party's proposals on capital spending would bring down council debt and help "balance the books".

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Householders dodging £1.3m in council tax

First Published by: Kent and Sussex Courier

ALMOST £1.3million of council tax due to be collected in Tunbridge Wells during the past five year’s remains unpaid.

More than £485,000 in council tax for 2010/11 alone has so far been dodged by householders. ​

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council issues around 2,500 court summonses each year in a bid to claw back the debt.

Figures show the council has spent £1,038,319 since 2006/2007 pursuing council tax evaders – costs it said it could eventually recover from debtors. Its efforts since 2006/2007 until April last year have recouped £3,507,514 but the cost of recovery was £1,038,319 – making an overall gain of £2,469,195.

Cabinet member responsible for Council Tax, councillor John Cunningham, said: "We have a rigorous recovery programme for collection of outstanding council tax. We actively pursue those who won't pay. We are successful. Tunbridge Wells is in the top quartile for collection in the country."

The council said its "biggest problem" was not having access to the records of organisations such as HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions to track people who had absconded.

Mr Cunningham said writing off debts was a "last resort" only taken when someone could not be traced, and we have many people who fall into this area. "All recovery methods have to be fully attempted before any write-offs. This happens only where we have been unable to trace a debtor, of if a debtor has been made bankrupt and there will be no distribution to creditors because of insufficient funds," he said.

He said around 25 per cent of council tax debt was recovered after five years. The council issues reminders and final notices to non-payers. If this fails, it issues summonses to a magistrates' court followed by a liability order through the courts. The bailiffs, committal proceeding and charging orders can follow.

Figures show that of the £1,007,560 owed in 2006/2007, more than 50 per cent has been collected by the council.

Asked how long the council would continue to pursue a council tax cheat, Mr Cunningham said: "Indefinitely, no matter what the cost. If an amount is owing, then we will seek to recover the amount by the means available to us. It is important to note that we have to distinguish between the 'can't pay' and 'won't pay' taxpayers."

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