Councillors in Poole will be asked to approve a rise in council tax of less than three per cent for 2010/11.
Members of Borough of Poole’s Cabinet have agreed to recommend a 2.9 per cent increase in council tax for the coming year. The recommendations will be discussed and voted upon by a meeting of the full council on Thursday 18 February, 2010.
The recommendation means the annual charge for a Band D property in Poole would be £1,209.60 from April 2010. This represents an increase of less than 66p a week.
The council faces significant pressure on its budget over the coming year. In addition to having to budget for a range of Government measures such as increased landfill tax and new proposals to introduce free personal care at home for people with high needs, the council has seen a significant rise in demand for services such as adult and children’s social care. At the same time, incomes such as planning fees have been hit by the recession.
This year Borough of Poole will receive a 1.5 per cent grant increase from the Government, compared to an increase in the national average for all unitary authorities of three per cent for the same period.
In response to these challenges, the proposed budget for 2010/11 aims to:
* protect services across the community;
* extend the council’s Business Transformation Programme to secure savings and efficiencies totalling a further £7.9m by 2012/13;
* address the imbalance between local taxation and income earned from fees and charges so service users pay more, reducing the burden to local council taxpayers.
Cllr Brian Leverett, Leader of the Council, said: "We are committed to keeping council tax as low as it practically can be without having an adverse impact on local services. The council is facing tremendous pressures on its budget at a time when the costs and demand for services such as adult social care and children’s services continue to rise.
"Poole remains one of the most poorly funded councils in the country, in terms of grant it receives from Government. Nevertheless, through the careful management of our resources we have been able to keep council tax relatively low when compared to similar councils around the country. We will continue in our efforts to make the council more efficient as I am determined to keep council tax as low as possible in future years."
