It would be ‘folly’ not to raise council tax by the maximum amount, the leader of Wokingham Borough Council has said, as the council approved spending plans for the next financial year.
Councillors voted to increase council tax by the maximum amount allowed – 4.99% – in a budget that also includes £16 million of spending cuts.
It means the average mid-valued ‘Band D’ home in the borough will pay £2,262.93 a year from April – £105 more than currently.
Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Stephen Conway said he would ‘rather not’ increase council tax by that amount, but not doing so would mean running down the council’s reserves – pots of money saved to cover extra spending.
He pointed to Windsor and Maidenhead council, which now faces effective bankruptcy.
“We would rather not have to increase the council tax by 4.99%, but experience shows us the folly of too heavy a reliance on reserves to cover current expenditure,” he told the council chamber. “Neighbouring Windsor and Maidenhead levied a nil per cent council tax for several years, paying for services by running down reserves.”
He reminded councillors Wokingham Borough Council receives the lowest level of government grant funding of all the councils in Berkshire.
He was speaking as councillors debated and voted on the coming year’s budget, spanning April 2024 – April 2025, at a meeting on Thursday, February 22.
Conservative opposition leader Councillor Pauline Jorgensen said the Liberal Democrats had ‘lost control’ of the council’s finances, and the council’s ‘core spending power’ had increased by nearly £24 million since the Liberal Democrats took control in 2022.
This is the amount it has in total to spend on services, and includes the amount of income it can raise such as through council tax as well as grants.
“The Liberal Democrats can’t live within their means. They have lost control of the Council’s finances,” she said.
Councillor Andy Croy, leader of the Labour group, blamed Conservative-led governments for cutting funding for local councils. He said there had been “year after year of cuts to funding and impairment to our revenue raising ability”.
Conservative councillors voted against the council’s spending plans, but it was approved with Liberal Democrat and Labour voting in favour.
In a separate vote, Liberal Democrats and Labour councillors also voted for the maximum council tax increase while Conservatives abstained, meaning this was also approved.
