Council tax to rise by 3.5 per cent (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Council tax to rise by 3.5 per cent
8:26am Tuesday 24th February 2009 in News
Councillors take some refreshment during the meeting
COUNCIL tax will rise by 3.5 per cent in 2009/10 across Swindon, but some services face the chop.
This was the result of a heated council meeting last night at which councillors thrashed out the details of an already much-debated budget.
Controversial cuts in the park and ride service, Swindon Dance and local libraries remained in the budget.
Both Labour and the Lib Dems offered up alternative proposals that they claimed would save the services, but all were voted down by the controlling Conservative group.
The result of the budget means that the average Band D property in Swindon will now be paying out £1,366.20 per year in council tax.
Conservatives claimed that the budget was a fair and balanced one and that any cuts in services had been aimed at the areas affecting the least residents.
But opposition councillors attacked the proposals and urged the Tories to re-think cuts in key areas.
Council leader Rod Bluh defended the work done by his cabinet.
He said: “The good thing about being in opposition is that you don’t have to make any decisions.
“This has been a difficult budget but I am happy to stand by what we have delivered.”
Coun Mark Edwards, lead member for resources, said: “There are decisions that we would like not to have made but an enormous amount of work has gone into this and no decision has been taken lightly.”
During a four-and-a-half hour meeting the key topics of conversation were the £331,000 saved through mothballing the park and ride service, the £92,000 cut in the libraries budget and a £75,000 cut in funding to Swindon Dance over three years.
But cabinet members insisted that savings had to be made somewhere and at times expressed exasperation that out of 190 budget lines only three or four were being debated.
Comments(31)
SN25
says...
9:16am Tue 24 Feb 09
Own goal for the Conservatives when the next elections come around!!
Buster
says...
9:27am Tue 24 Feb 09
I don't for one moment think he would dare to even contemplate this if it would hit the voters in his own ward, however it will probably cost Robert Buckland any chance of winning the Swindon South seat at the next general election, for it is the wards hit by this tax that will hold the key to his chances of winning the seat.
IRofE
says...
9:30am Tue 24 Feb 09
Thats a disgrace............
..
Jock Strap
says...
9:36am Tue 24 Feb 09
swindon69
says...
9:42am Tue 24 Feb 09
ItsPavAgain
says...
9:50am Tue 24 Feb 09
BWB
says...
9:53am Tue 24 Feb 09
It will keep some one fully
employed behind a desk,sending out
final demands to those who find It
impossible to pay because they
cant find a job,and are already behind with their mortgage etc.
Change your Religion and you could
have many of these bills payed for
you in benifits,with no hassle.
Jo-Ent
says...
10:02am Tue 24 Feb 09
1. The Labour government is massively under-funding Swindon;
2. 3.5% increase is well below average for other unitary authorities;
3. SBC's income from other sources (eg savings interest, development taxes) has been slashed by Labour's recession;
4. Labour put up council taxes 42% in three years and created a failing council;
5. Labour's so-called 'alternative budget' was political opportunism which didn't add up;
6. The libraries, park and ride and old residents parking scheme were totally unsustainable; the rest of us were subsidising the relatively small number of people using them.
Overall, the Conservatives deserve credit for keeping council tax as low as possible once again. It would be far, far worse if Small & co ever got to run things again, heaven forbid.
tarot
says...
10:06am Tue 24 Feb 09
Robert Feal-Martinez
says...
10:07am Tue 24 Feb 09
I tried to access the full budget proposals on the website but 'oddly' the appendix 2 appeared to be missing.
What I did note was despite all the claims to the contrary about Swindon's unique 'growth' position that SBC finally acknowledge that their capital programme will have a short fall of £20 million, so there is no money in the coffers except the begging bowl to HMG, which will no doubt come with huge costs to Swindon.
If this is a typical example of the Tories LA policy of working for the people, then heaven help us all if 'Call me Dave' and his party get elected. UKIP are flattered Cameron has stolen so many of UKIP's policy, such as pubs, local accountability, elected Police Chiefs etc. What we are not flattered about is he clearly and it would seem his own group in Swindon, do not have a clue what they mean in reality.
Muslim_Swindon
says...
10:16am Tue 24 Feb 09
Buster
says...
10:18am Tue 24 Feb 09
Rocky Knuckles
says...
10:37am Tue 24 Feb 09
Donkey
says...
10:49am Tue 24 Feb 09
Buster wrote:Took the words out of my mouth ... as I have been called all the names under the sun for stating that very fact on so many occasions!
Councillor Jo-ent, you make the point about the labour group increasing tax by 42% in 3 years, but what you fail to acknowledge is that the tories have not ever given any of these increases back to the people whrough tax cuts in subsequent years. Yes, they may have been steep hikes in tax, but your administration has benefitted from them ever since.
They did not agree to those increases, but where on earth would this current Council be now, had CT not been raised over that period of time, and by those amounts, post Unitary Authority?
Worz
says...
10:52am Tue 24 Feb 09
The Librarian says Oook
says...
11:00am Tue 24 Feb 09
What a typically Tory fatuous remark from Councillor Bluh; “The good thing about being in opposition is that you don’t have to make any decisions." The British pattern of government is that the Opposition is there to make up a balanced opinion and sometimes the Opposition's opinion is the rational, sensible option.
The luxury of opposition is being able to take the moral high ground with absolutely no risk of being proved wrong. It’s like picking horses out of the paper without making a bet.
That is why when the Tories were in power, they renewed their anti terrorist powers on an annual basis, in the teeth of Labour opposition. Tony Blair always had a field day, in maximum smug mode, banging on about principle and and liberty.
Of course, as soon as Labour came in, they introduced detention without trial for 28 days (and wanted 90), abandoned automatic jury trials and introduced 3,000 new laws, including criminalising protest at Westminster and even making it illegal to take a photograph of a policeman.
Donkey
says...
11:00am Tue 24 Feb 09
Worz
says...
11:11am Tue 24 Feb 09
>
Does that include the 5% rise in the police precept, or is that just the council's cut?
Robert Feal-Martinez
says...
11:28am Tue 24 Feb 09
kman
says...
11:31am Tue 24 Feb 09
Jock Strap
says...
11:36am Tue 24 Feb 09
Donkey wrote:Ever heard of balancing the books guys - Labour controlled Swindon council was just a smaller mirror image of Robber McBroon's static policy diet - BORROW - BORROW SOME MORE - OH AND WHILE YOUR AT IT -BORROW EVEN MORE!!
Buster wrote: Councillor Jo-ent, you make the point about the labour group increasing tax by 42% in 3 years, but what you fail to acknowledge is that the tories have not ever given any of these increases back to the people whrough tax cuts in subsequent years. Yes, they may have been steep hikes in tax, but your administration has benefitted from them ever since.Took the words out of my mouth ... as I have been called all the names under the sun for stating that very fact on so many occasions! They did not agree to those increases, but where on earth would this current Council be now, had CT not been raised over that period of time, and by those amounts, post Unitary Authority?
Robh
says...
12:16pm Tue 24 Feb 09
The CT after the increases was nearer the real costs but even with this they gave us poor services and facilities. Don't forget that with the 42% also came severe cuts in services.
I don't think we can afford the real costs of providing the services we expect especially with under funding from government which will probably not change after the next general election.
IRofE
says...
12:23pm Tue 24 Feb 09
So much so that at present it has become the second biggest expense in my household, my mortgage being only £75 more expensive! crazy.....
TKD4ever
says...
12:26pm Tue 24 Feb 09
remember
No Tutition Fee,
No Privatisation of Post Office, More Police on the Beat, .
Tough on Crime, etc.
And of course these have all be acted on by the labour government.
It's the same with the local council, promise what you like and then forget it when you are elected.
The Adder
says...
12:31pm Tue 24 Feb 09
It has always been the case under the Tories that you pay more for less services.
The Labour group came up with an alternative package last night that would have worked but the pig-ignorant Tories stuck to their own agenda.
The people of Swindon voted in a Tory Council and are now reaping what they sowed.
Donkey
says...
12:34pm Tue 24 Feb 09
As have the Tories since taking over the Council!
Jock Strap
says...
1:28pm Tue 24 Feb 09
The Adder wrote:Have you not read several of the above comments which succintly point to Labour's failure to manage the books leaving the Tories little option to cut non-essential services to shore up the hole in the boat left by Small and co. as they scuttled the ship? Don't know if you were around when "The Bates Motel" lot were in charge but Bluh's lot pale into insignificance in comparison. Like I said its the same nationally - I'm no Dave fan but in the light of no real opposition - we can forget UKIP & LibDems - they represent the only chance of ousting this sad and pathetic regime who have regularly failed to produce (TK4D sums it up well)-ADDER to that! The Gnome Secretary's living arrangements and payment of £40k pa to her PPS (who just happens to be....err,err, oh yes her husband)and there you have it! - doubtless if a tory minister was up to the same tricks you'd be up in arms(and rightly so) but as it's one of your own who cares eh?
Some people have short memories i'm afraid. It has always been the case under the Tories that you pay more for less services. The Labour group came up with an alternative package last night that would have worked but the pig-ignorant Tories stuck to their own agenda. The people of Swindon voted in a Tory Council and are now reaping what they sowed.
Donkey
says...
5:38pm Tue 24 Feb 09
Jackanory
says...
5:42pm Tue 24 Feb 09
Always Grumpy
says...
5:56pm Tue 24 Feb 09
Donkey stated:
"Yes indeed ... Michael Ankram ... you don't read what you don't want to admit!"
A drop in the ocean compared to "Jackboot Jacky" (our illustrious Home Secetary), Mr Speaker (New Labour - The Gorbals) etc, etc, who are shoving their snouts into the trough as deeply as they can. At least with the Tories, a history of snout shoving is on their side, so it's the least to expect! Normally, they are caught with their trousers down, so this is somewhat of a relief!
nelle2705 says...
8:39am Tue 24 Feb 09
People are loosing their jobs, struggling to pay the already high taxes of this country and yet our council still see fit to raise the council tax again.
You don't even get value for money for this crap tax either. YOU do the recycling, YOU even take stuff to the tip when the council can't be bothered to collect it from you, YOU complain about street lighting always being out, but still you don't get a reduction you get an INCREASE for your trouble.
Something is not right in my eyes.
Would someone care to explain why we get shafted everytime in these crazy taxes.
rant over.