Harlow Council sets low Council Tax
increase
For the second time running Harlow Council’s
increase in its share of Council Tax is one of the lowest in
Essex.
Harlow Council’s share will increase by 2.9%
for 2008/9, which is below current inflation. The average Council
Tax increase in the country is likely to be around 4%.
Residents living in band D properties can
expect to pay just 13p extra per week (£6.84 per year) for Harlow
Council’s services such as refuse collection, parks and play areas,
street cleansing, community safety and community and leisure
activities.
As well as a low Council Tax increase the
Council’s budget for 2008/9 will see:
- More investment into initiatives to make
Harlow cleaner, safer and greener.
- £300,000 for new sports and leisure
opportunities following the closure of Harlow Pool.
- Popular front-line community facilities
continue.
- Around £900,000 worth of efficiency savings
being made to provide better value for money.
Money will be redirected into the Council’s
top priority – a clean, safe and sustainable environment. New
community safety and environment enforcement officers will be
recruited and extra money put towards developing the Council’s
environment partnership with ECCO. This will continue the Tex-Bac
(textiles and bric-a-brac) and battery recycling schemes and the
furniture re-use project.
Following the closure of Harlow Pool due to
health and safety issues, £300,000 of the facility’s annual budget
will be used to provide new sports and leisure opportunities for
all.
Popular front-line discretionary services such
as – the Playhouse Theatre, The Museum of Harlow, Pets’ Corner, the
Leah Manning Centre, One Stop Shop for young people, paddling pools
and Sam’s Place will continue as well as the annual Bonfire Night
and Harlow Show events.
All this is despite significant financial
pressures the Council has faced. Many of these are beyond the
Council’s direct control and arise from issues such as an increase
in bus pass costs and reductions in grants from the Government. In
total the Council has had to save £2.742 million. Harlow, along
with other Councils up and down the country, has faced a
particularly difficult time in setting a budget due to these
pressures. In addition the Council will make around £900,000 of
efficiency savings, which are above Government set targets, to
provide more value for money.
Thirty posts (seven currently vacant) will be
affected by the budget pressures and the Council will take action
to do what it can to avoid making compulsory redundancies.
Council Joint Leader, Councillor Tony Durcan,
said: “It’s no secret that we faced a hard budget setting process
like most councils in the country. However we have managed to
protect popular front line services, redirect money into residents’
priorities and we will be providing new sports and leisure
opportunities. Some reductions are unavoidable due to financial
pressures outside of the Council’s control, but these reductions
will not affect services directly used by local people. The low
rise in our share of Council Tax will help to keep down the overall
increase in Council Tax.”
Council Joint Leader, Councillor Chris
Millington, said: “This budget puts residents’ priorities first. It
protects popular front-line services and puts more money into the
priorities of residents rather than cut services, which could be
the case for many other councils. Like Harlow, councils up and down
the country face significant financial pressures. With recent
rising inflation rates and cost of living increases, we have been
determined to keep our share of council tax low without
jeopardising front line services. There is also pressure to do more
for less and the Council has identified significant efficiency
savings to provide greater value for money.”
Although Harlow Council collects Council Tax,
it receives a small proportion of the amount taken. The largest
share goes to Essex County Council (71%) and proportions also go to
the Essex Police Authority (8%) and Essex Fire Authority
(4%). The rise in the share of the tax by the other
authorities means that overall, Council Tax for a Band D home in
Harlow will rise by 4% - that’s £57.60 per year (Band D).
Council Tax Bands for
Harlow
| Band |
Harlow |
Essex |
Essex |
Essex |
Total |
| |
Council |
County |
Police |
Fire |
|
| |
|
Council |
Authority |
Authority |
|
| A |
£161.40 |
£697.74 |
£81.48 |
£41.52 |
£982.14 |
| B |
£188.30 |
£814.03 |
£95.06 |
£48.44 |
£1,145.83 |
| C |
£215.20 |
£930.32 |
£108.64 |
£55.36 |
£1,309.52 |
| D |
£242.10 |
£1,046.61 |
£122.22 |
£62.28 |
£1,473.21 |
| E |
£295.90 |
£1,279.19 |
£149.38 |
£76.12 |
£1,800.59 |
| F |
£349.70 |
£1,511.77 |
£176.54 |
£89.96 |
£2,127.97 |
| G |
£403.50 |
£1,744.35 |
£203.70 |
£103.80 |
£2,455.35 |
| H |
£484.20 |
£2,093.22 |
£244.44 |
£124.56 |
£2,946.42 |
Ends