THERE will be no increase in council tax at Warrington this year – thanks to a £1.995 million handout from the Government.
Town Hall bosses also hope there will be no increase next year.
But they are pledging the borough council will not be coming to a standstill – and that job losses among council staff will be kept to an absolute minimum.
Major investments, such as the regeneration of the Bridge Street area, will be going ahead to bring new business into the town.
The council’s executive board meets on Monday (February 14) when members will be asked to approve spending of £154.822 million in 2011-2012, net of a Dedicated Schools Grant of £140,350 million.
This will mean council tax on an average Band D house will again be £1,136.64.
Only one of the 18 parish councils in the borough has increased its precept – Birchwood – and with both the police and fire authority precepts expected to be frozen, the only residents to face even a small rise in council tax will be those at Birchwood (0.1 per cent) At Walton, the parish council has reduced its precept so residents will enjoy a reduction of 0.3 per cent.
Cllr Paul Campbell, (picture) executive member for finance, said Warrington was better placed than most other councils to meet the challenge of cutbacks caused by the national economic situation.
Councillors and officers had been working for more than 12 months and had carried out the most extensive public consultation ever completed at Warrington. They had received tremendous feedback from all sections of the community.
Cllr Campbell said the council’s priorities would include protecting frontline services, safeguarding vulnerable children, young people and adults, highways maintenance, supporting the voluntary sector through lower than expected cutbacks to their funding, encourage business engagement and local enterprise, using council fund or assets to bring in investment and focussing capital investment on priority schemes that matter to local residents.
Efficiency savings would be sought in “back office” services and by reducing bureaucracy and increasing efficiency, the council magazine “The Wire” would be closed.
The council would also be looking at the future of communities centres.
Council chiefs were unable to say how many Town Hall staff would be losing their jobs. But some had already gone, voluntarily and it was hoped the necessary cutbacks could be achieved voluntarily. The council was working with the unions to minimise potential job losses
Deputy leader of the council Keith Bland said: “None of us went into local government to make cuts. We went into it to provide a service and we are not happy at having to do something to help solve an economic problem that we did not create.”
Council leader Ian Marks said: “We are proud of what we have achieved over the last four and-a-half years that has left the council much better placed than many other local authorities.”
Council tax to stay unchanged
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
10 Comments
Hitting the communities again? Where are the Third Sector going to operate from?
Aw well as getting rid of the Wire, they need to STOP printing all the other bits of information that no-one reads.
I wonder how much they have reduced Warrington’s debt with all these cutbacks and job losses or have the savings vanished in paying out Pensions?
With the totally inept way the council dealt with the recent snow and ice, coupled with the lack of bin collections lasting almost a month in some areas; it is about time the robbing sods gave us some money back! “No increase for a year”? I don’t know how Bland and Marks have the front to be so proud of their failures
I actually had a good laugh at how they’re trying to make it out that they’ve chosen not to increase Council tax. During the Youth consultation sham, they said that the GOVERNMENT HAS IMPLEMENTED A COUNCIL TAX FREEZE, so Councils can’t increase the tax whether they were thinking about it or not xD
But considering Cllr Marks comment at the end, it seems they’ll say anything to just stay in for another four years…
This is what the Government actually said:
The new grant scheme will be open to all billing and major precepting authorities, including police and fire authorities, which decide to freeze or reduce their council tax next year. If they do, they will receive additional funding in 2011-12, equivalent to raising their 2010-11 council tax by 2.5 per cent. The Spending Review also commits to providing authorities with additional funding in future years to “lock in” the benefits of the one year freeze and help ensure council taxpayers will not face subsequent excessive increases.
So Local Authorities such as WBC do have a choice, albeit a Hobson’s Choice. With regards to staying in for another four years, my understanding of Warrington is that in effect the Council could change three years out of four, given the electoral cycle that it has.
What’s the betting they give themselves a pay increase next year?
They definitely do have a choice – I understand Rochdale are considering putting up their Council Tax by over 3%…. only by freezing the Council Tax do Council’s get the Government Funding… Not much choice but it is a choice.
….oh and ‘looking at community centres’ doesn’t mean closing… It means looking at lettin the communities run them themselves without Concil interference. Maybe the third Sector would like to run some Silver Surfer?
Bet you they don’t!
Thank you, clears it all up for me.
But as I said before, I was told at the Youth Service Consultation by the financial officer (I think that was his title) that Councils could not increase Council tax, so maybe its just a case that they’ve chosen to receive the additional funding?
Just see how much the leader of the Labour Group has made and how many coal field meetings does he need to attend??? He meets up with mates and downs a few pints and more all on us I understand!!!! I understand that he had claimed an overnight for a meeting in Huyton Merseyside – Anyone know the distance from Huyton to Burtonwood???
Oh what a suprise! Birchwood gets hammered AGAIN! I am sick to death of paying more council tax than any other parish in Warrington. Why the hell do we hav to pay more than everywhere else????? We have NOTHING up here! Stockton Heath has it all! Sick to the back teeth of it! FFS !