Tories unveil their council tax freeze budget.
Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, leader of the Conservative group on Brighton & Hove City Council has unveiled his Group’s plans for a council tax freeze ahead of the Council’s Budget setting meeting on Thursday, February 27.
The proposals for a freeze would take advantage of the £1.2 million of recurrent annual funding from the Government’s council tax freeze grant scheme.
Other proposals being put forward by the Conservatives would all take effect from April 1 if agreed.
These include:
• A £25,000 grant for the Pride Festival to ensure the Community Parade can go ahead.
• Reversing the £165,000 cut to the grants programme for Community and Voluntary groups.
• Reversing the £84,000 cut to the short break respite care budget for disabled children.
• Helping traders and small businesses in the city by reducing the cost of their parking permits.
• Restoring £20,000 to the Brighton & Hove School Music & Arts Service budget.
• Transitional funding to help Able & Willing – the Council supported business for people with learning disabilities – to develop a more viable business model.
The proposals will form amendments to the main Budget and, if agreed, will be funded from a number of sources including back office savings in areas such as:
• Human Resources
• Communications and Scrutiny
• Reducing the number of Trade Union officials who are funded by the council taxpayer
• Adopting a tough but fair approach to income collection across the Council
• Reversing the proposed increase in the Travellers’ Budget
• Carrying out a proper tendering exercise on the Council’s in-house Youth Service to enable the not-for profit voluntary organisations to take over the running of the service
Conservative Group Leader, Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, said: “Brighton & Hove’s Pride is an internationally renowned event which, last year, was attended by 160,000 people and contributes an estimated £13.5 million to the local economy, in other words, money in the pocket for our local businesses and traders. It also generates significant sums of money for local LGBT and HIV good causes – over £43,000 last year. We are, therefore, delighted to be able to put forward a Budget amendment to continue to give £25,000 to the Pride Festival to ensure that the much-loved Community Parade can go ahead. I urge the Green and Labour Groups to support our amendment on Thursday.”
On his proposal for a council tax freeze he added: “I firmly believe that this is what the vast majority of the city’s residents want and they simply won’t understand why the other two parties continue to spurn the Government’s generous funding. It is not too late for the Labour Group, in particular, to change their minds and support our freeze proposal. After all, their plans for a 2% increase would break their pledge to keep any increase below inflation and would only generate an additional £800,000 funding, out of a £750 million Budget.”
Conservative Group Finance Spokesperson, Cllr. Ann Norman, added: “Clearly, had we been in Administration we wouldn’t have started from this position and we believe that a thorough market testing exercise of all the Council’s services is needed. After all, the Council’s independent auditors continue to say that our services are more expensive than other similar councils. However, I’m pleased that we have managed to find enough money to offer residents a council tax freeze, help businesses through reduced parking permit costs, support community and voluntary sector groups and protecting funding for short breaks and outreach services for disabled children. I urge the other two Groups to support our sensible, fully-costed proposals.”
Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove & Portslade, concluded saying: “I know that residents will be pleased that my Conservative council colleagues have proposed a sensible budget that includes a council tax freeze. When faced with the prospect of a massive 4.75% rise, I think lots of people will be asking questions on why the opposition are not making our council more efficient, rather than simply asking residents to foot the bill for council waste.”
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