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WOKINGHAM residents will face a council tax rise of 5.49% plus the parish council precepts, which could add as much as £106.71 to the bill.
The overall rise, announced at a press briefing this evening, but broken by today’s edition of The Wokingham Paper, comprises is based on a general council tax increase of 2.99% – a weekly increase of 78p a week for a Band D property, and a social care precept levy of 2.5% (65p per week).
Wokingham Borough Council said that the social care precept levy will generate an additional £2.4million this financial year which would help vulnerable adults get the support they need. Taking both into account, the council’s share of the overall council tax would be: £1,433.89 for a Band D property.
The figures will now be taken to special meetings of Wokingham Borough Council’s Executive and full council meetings, both of which take place on Thursday, February 22.
In the briefing, Executive members shared the processes they’d gone through to create what they say is a balanced budget. It also includes a £534.5 million (more than half a billion pounds) programme of investment. We are trying to establish if the expenditure announced is new and will report back when the figures have been made available.
Council leader, Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor explained how the council is the lowest funded unitary authority in the country and that in the next financial year – 2019/20 – the council will only receive just over £40 per person from central Government, compared to other councils. The average is £250.
In the new financial year, which starts in April, 84% of service costs will be met through council tax revenue not government funding (which rises to 90% in 2019/20).
The council argue that a number of authorities around the country receive 50% including Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham and Telford and the Wrekin.
And the financial misery continues: since 2011, the council has had to manage reductions in central government grants against a backdrop of rising demand for services – especially in children’s social care and adult social care – as well as waste disposal costs and inflation.
It is also continuing to prepare for the complete withdrawal of the main government support grant by 2020.
In a statement, Cllr Haitham Taylor, said: “We’ve done an excellent job managing our budgets during recent years in the face of severe government cuts, and we remain determined to continue to meet our commitments to our local communities and help our most vulnerable residents.
“By March 2020, our funding from central government will be cut by 130%. We’ve saved more than £45 million during this time, but still have to save a further £10 million by 2020.”
Cllr Haitham Taylor also talked about the budget consultation exercise with residents. She said that this had helped the council understand residents’ views on some of the key issues and their main priorities and concerns.
She said that top priorities for local people include affordable housing, weekly waste collections, maintaining roads, having a thriving economy and good educational attainment.
She added that as a result of the borough council’s carefully planned developments which are bringing significant contributions from housing developers, attracting central government capital grants and through prudent borrowing, it is able to translate people’s priorities into day-to-day reality.
The council is investing in:
Roads and tackling traffic congestion: £158million
Includes construction of six new relief roads, highways maintenance and improvements
Education: £49.3million
Includes: new schools; improvements to school buildings; providing new school places and enhanced provision for children and young people with disabilities
Regenerating towns and villages, supporting social and economic prosperity: £170million
Includes affordable housing; leisure facilities – new Bulmershe Leisure Centre, new pool at Arborfield, Ryeish Green sports hub; country parks and play areas and Wokingham town centre regeneration, and superfast broadband
Building strong sustainable communities: £52.7million
Includes cycleways, greenways and byways; street lighting replacement scheme; social housing; waste schemes; flood alleviation scheme and drainage; park and ride schemes; a community centre at Shinfield
Commercial assets: £100million
Includes investing in commercial assets to generate income to fund vital services
Infrastructure: £4.5million
Includes upgrades to IT to make it more efficient, effective and easier for residents to access the council, and to maintain and refurbish buildings that are used by its residents through its adult social care services
Cllr Haitham Taylor said: “Despite being the lowest funded unitary authority in the country, we’re still very ambitious. We’re investing £500m in delivering these priorities during the next three years. This investment will be used to create new roads, park and ride facilities, sport hubs, schools, and community buildings, and it’s being paid for by developer contributions or external funding. We’re also working more commercially to keep council tax as low as possible. This will help us grow, prosper and fund services in the future.
“In the recent budget consultation exercise, more than half of you (56%) told us you would be willing to support an increase in council tax to protect the services we provide. Wokingham Borough is a great place to live and we want to ensure it stays that way. We think our proposed tax increases will help us do that.”
The video that accompanies this story has been produced by Wokingham Borough Council’s Communications team.
