Council Tax cut - frontline services protected
Date:
28 February 2011
Large cost savings over a number of years have yielded a small cut in the District Council’s Council Tax level for the second year running, it was announced last night (Tuesday 22 February).
The surprise 1/4% reduction in Council Tax overall was agreed at a Full Council meeting in which Cabinet Member for Resources, Matthew Bedford, pledged to protect the District Council’s main frontline services. The Council is balancing its budget in the face of a 23% cut in its Government grant over the next two years by making further efficiency savings, reducing non-essential services and generating more revenue.
Cabinet Member for Resources, Matthew Bedford, said:
"It’s been extremely hard to protect the front line services which people value and rely on. We’ve listened to residents and thought carefully about what is really important. We’ve had to make some difficult decisions but we will be able to continue to provide high quality, value for money frontline services."
The Council has made a commitment to protecting:
Matthew Bedford added:
"In the coming year we aim to increase our shared service programme with Watford Borough Council to further reduce back office costs."
Cost savings in next year’s budget include:
Accommodating Rickmansworth Police Station in the Council’s main building
A reduction in casual staff
Deleting certain vacant jobs
Reducing IT costs
Cutting of first class post
Reducing the number of leisure projects
Cutting delivery of the A-Z directory of services
Reduction in Councillors’ allowances
Increase in revenue from garage leases, planning and building control charges
Increase in shared services with Watford Borough Council.
Small reductions in funding to groups including the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and Mill End Youth Club mean that the organisations can continue to run their core services.
The Council has no plans to introduce charges for car parks for next year.
The District Council's average Band D charge for 2011/12 will be £155.33.
Including the Parish component the Band D average charge will be £192.32.
NOTES
Members of the Pensioners’ Forum have voted for an all-year round reduction rather than free swimming for certain periods of the year.
Recent performance
Three Rivers District Council was making significant savings through increased efficiency for several years before the large cuts in Government funding for Councils was announced by the Coalition Government in December.
Money saved
2005/6 £440,980
2006/7 £52,890
2007/8 £218,450
2008/9 £484,465
2009/10 £682,823
2010/11 £103,860 (estimate)
TOTAL £1,983,468
Cost saving initiatives in the last three years have included:
2008 Transfer of management of leisure centres from the Council to Hertsmere Leisure Trust (under Council ownership)
2008 Joint re-development of Watford Woodside leisure centre with Watford Borough Council
2008 Transfer of housing stock to Thrive Homes housing association
2009 Implementation of Shared Services with Watford Borough Council – IT, benefits, finance and human resources.
The initiatives led to a decrease in senior management costs, reduced staffing costs, reduced costs in providing and maintaining buildings as well as improvements in customer service. The quality of services has been recognised by independent auditors and the Council has one of the highest overall satisfaction rates in England.
The Council receives 13pence in the pound from the total Council Tax paid by residents. The remainder funds Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire Police Authority.