Cheshire East is to freeze Council Tax rates for Nantwich residents for the next two years.
And more than a quarter of council management posts are to be cut to save £5 million.
These were among some of the pledges made by Cheshire East Council Leader Cllr Michael Jones (pictured) in a three-year budget plan passed by the council.
It means Band D property Council Tax bills will remain unchanged at £1,216.34 in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Many services are being devolved and run by Nantwich Town Council, including venues like the Civic Hall, indoor market hall, public toilets, and allotment sites.
Cllr Jones said the £12.6m Council Tax freeze grant will be used to deliver frontline services with reduced grants from Government.
A shake-up of council management will save £5m a year by 2015 by reducing the number of management posts by a quarter.
The council is planning to invest £220m over the next three years in its capital programme, and aims to create 27,000 new homes.
Cllr Jones said: “This budget is more than numbers.
“It is about how a modern council delivers services to the people – not relying on spend and bust or resorting to reckless policies of increasing Council Tax and slashing public services.
“This budget says there is a ‘different’ way. We can work together as a council, officers and members, to deliver a vision of the highest quality public services ever.
“This is a three-year budget which lays down new structures, new jobs and most importantly, new delivery models with a new design and desire.
“We may have come a long way but the journey has only just begun. This budget is just another step on the road to delivering the very best for the people of Cheshire East. We must be aspirational in our goals and agile in our delivery.”
Key points of Three-Year Financial Strategy:
● Freezing Council Tax in 2013-14 and 2014-15
● Cutting out millions of pounds of unnecessary costs and waste
● Reducing management costs by at least 20 per cent
● Reducing the number of buildings and facilities operated and sharing others with partners
● Capital programme of over £220m, £25m spent on roads, planning for 27,000 new homes
● Improving contracts for range of goods and services
● Devolving more services and assets, new arrangements for running 14 leisure centres
● Reshaping provision of social care, reducing specialist placements outside the borough
● More early intervention and prevention for vulnerable children and adults
● Improved special school provision with ‘free school’ partners, development of new university technical college in Crewe
Very interesting report, especially the items about reducing waste and cutting management costs, both of which are well known drains on public finances.
Let us hope that CEC carries out this plan properly.