We've published practical guidelines to help you to help us reduce Council running costs. The 10 easy steps are published ahead of large cuts to local authority funding expected in the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review report next Wednesday (20 October).
Council Leader, Ann Shaw, said:
“Residents and politicians will have strong opinions for or against the cuts. But we must make the best of a difficult situation and use common sense both in protecting frontline services and in saving money.
“Small, practical steps can help to cut household bills and it’s no different with Councils. We have been planning for reductions for the past four months and we have been thinking especially of the elderly and other vulnerable people in our community. We will continue to serve them as a priority in spite of the cuts.
“We'll keep you informed regularly so that you can make best use of services.”
Our 10 tips are:
Use this website instead of ringing for routine information
Maximise your recycling to reduce landfill tax (paid by the County Council)
Ann Shaw added:
“Residents have a vital role . If we all do just three of these steps we will be on our way to reducing costs and we can help to protect the environment at the same time."
Last year we cut Council Tax by 0.5%. We have saved £1.24 M in the last two years – through joint working with Watford Council, smarter use of technology and a reduction in staff - including a halving of the number of directors to two. Improvements to services have been recognised by the Audit Commission and Customer Service Excellence (previously Charter Mark).
Any cuts in funding announced next week will take effect from April next year. The Government has also announced a national freeze in Council Tax levels.
Final details of the Government grant for next year, known as the Settlement, is expected to be known by the end of December.
Please contact us as soon as possible if you are having genuine difficulty paying Council Tax.
We will let you know our initial response to the cuts here, through the local media and through
Three Rivers Times magazine, which will be distributed to all households and businesses at the beginning of December. We will also update you regularly through
our e-newsletter service.
Councils receive an annual grant from the Government as well as raising funds directly through Council Tax.
We, together with the Parish Councils, receive 14 pence in the pound from Council Tax. The remaining 86 pence goes to Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire Police Authority.
See our accounts...