Council tax bills look set to rise by 4.99% this year after the corporate policy committee voted to recommend the increase to full council, writes Belinda Ryan.
The increase is the maximum Cheshire East Council can impose after the government this week refused its request to hike up bills by 9.99%.
If the 4.99% is agreed by full council at the budget meeting on February 26, this will see Cheshire East’s part of the bill rise to £1,882.04 for a Band D property.
Other precepts, such as the police, fire service and town and parish councils, will be on top of that.
Councillors clashed at today’s meeting with five Conservatives voting against recommending the 4.99% increase.
Cllr Chris O’Leary (Sutton, Con) said: “I think it’s welcome news that the government has refused the request to increase the council tax by 9.99% but it’s also the case that 4.99% is still double the rate of inflation.”
He said the increase would affect those on council tax benefit and the thousands of low earners in the borough disproportionately.
Deputy leader Michael Gorman (Wilmslow, Ind) said: “If you look at inflation over the last four years council tax has not kept pace with it by any means.”
He said compared with neighbouring councils, Cheshire East had a relatively low council tax.
“You can’t have good services when you don’t have enough money, so you’ve got to have a fair council tax to provide good services,” said the deputy leader.
He said Cheshire West and Chester had a higher council tax and because of that “they’ve got £15m a year more than us, [for core spending] per year every year”.
He added: “There seems to be collective amnesia in parts of this council about why we are here and that’s because the council between 2009 and 2019 [when it was under Conservative control] decided not to keep pace with inflation and decided to go for the easy option.”
Conservative group leader Janet Clowes reacted angrily to that.
She said: “The council tax freezes of 2011 to 2015, they were brought about as part of an election manifesto promise based on previous Labour government, particularly under Gordon Brown, where council taxes were raised excessively and there were no controls and they far exceeded inflationary rates.”
She added during that five-year period, the council was given compensatory grants.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith (Wilmslow, Ind) said: “Last year the Conservative government capped our council tax increase by 5% and inflation had touched 12%.
“That was the wrong decision then.
“They dodged it because of the election coming up and it did them no good at all.
“I’m disappointed we haven’t been able to recoup that this time either.”
He added the council couldn’t cut its spending any more and without the 9.99% increase it had asked the government for the only way was to borrow money “and that money comes with interest”.
“It will cost us about £20m in interest alone over the life of that borrowing,” said Cllr Goldsmith.
“That’s why it was wrong decision last year by the Conservatives to cap council tax, it’s the wrong decision [by the Labour government] now.”
Sadly until Councils appoint Directors with the skills to strategically plan and deliver services within a budget and incompetence continues to prevail and manifest in Cheshire East Council, Council tax will rise at levels above inflation. Study the increases in council tax over 30 years and increases have been well above both CPI and RPI. In tax year 1994/1995 Band E Council Tax including all precepts was £75.00 per month. In the current tax year £280.62 over 10 months . That is a increase 374% from 94/95. Look at the snowball effect of the increases year by year.
My income has not risen by anything like that multiple,
Local Authorities need to be totally re-organised, restructured and Directors and all officers who cannot deliver face capability proceedings and dismissal. This is what happens in the private sector.
Millions of Pounds are constantly wasted by Cheshire East. The failures eventually get leaked into the public domain.
It is a known fact that GDP in the public sectors has reduced since COVID19 by some 8.4% to 8.5%. That is fact.
Cheshire East and the Town Council in Nantwich continue to waste money with no accountability, responsibility . Until the citizen of Cheshire East object and express their serious concerns it will continue.
Gold plated pensions which stopped in the private sector many years ago following policies established by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown . We have a two tier pension divide between the public sector and private sector. The tax payers of the United Kingdom are paying for it. The liability for Public Sector pensions has increased by 2 billion pounds this year.
One in four pounds of council tax is directed to pensions for Cheshire East Council Employees.
Cost to the tax payer is 20% to 25% of the salary bill. Private Sector employees do not benefit in the same way. Employers contribute much smaller percentage of income. Single figure percentages 5% is generous.
We need leaders with vision and strategic planning skills which is currently lacking.
Many millions of pounds could be saved. However there is no desire to put the brakes on and change. It is simply a gravy train!!!!
Tax and spend increase salaries in reward for no increases in productivity or saving to the tax payer money.