Council Approves 3.7% Council Tax Increase (Rochdale Liberal Democrats)

Rochdale Liberal Democrats <info@rochdalelibdems.org.uk>

Council Approves 3.7% Council Tax Increase

February 27, 2009 12:00 AM

Rochdale's Finance Boss - Councillor Greg Couzens Rochdale Borough Council has agreed proposals that will see Council Tax increase by 3.7% - the lowest for 12 years.

The 3.7% increase was put forward by the Liberal Democrat Group as part of their budget proposals for setting out the main spending plans for the year ahead. The budget also contained just under £900,000 for spending on priority areas. These include:

£250,000 for older people
£60,000 for improvements to our gateways and corridors
£50,000 for gully repairs

Additional revenue support will also provide for a new Heywood Sports, Leisure and Culture Village, additional cemetery provision and enable townships to increase their devolved funding.

Councillor Greg Couzen's said: "I believe that this year's budget represents a considerable achievement for the authority made possible through focus, prioritization and a sound service planning processes; all underpinned by excellent financial management. We proposed a council tax increase of 3.7% - the lowest for twelve years and I believe that this represents a careful balance between investing in maintaining and improving services and affordability.

Councillor Couzens continued: "In Conservative led Trafford they have been forced to increase council tax by 4.8%. In Labour led Salford they have been forced to make over 300 redundancies to council staff. The budget that was passed at council is a budget that doesn't contain any cuts to services, has the lowest council tax increase for 12 years and offers real value for money for the residents of our Borough. It is a sensible budget. It's a budget that prioritises services whilst at the same time prioritises our resident's wallets."

Councillor Peter Rush said: "I am delighted that Heywood residents will be receiving the lowest increase in their council tax since the 1996/1997 budget. We know that we have a lot of work to do to make sure our services are delivering the best value for money but we have the drive, ideas and commitment to deliver that for the people of our Heywood. My aim has always been to make sure that the residents of our town get the best possible value for money, while at the same time continuing to improve local services. I am also delighted that we have budgeted the additional revenue needed for Heywood Sports, Leisure and Culture Village and also the much needed extension to our cemetery. We have set the lowest council tax increase for twelve years and we will be delivering the lowest council tax increase for 13 years next year."