So that’s it for another year – the Lib Dem Budget for the next twelve months has been forced through without any real opportunity for scrutiny, and we will all have to pay even more in Council Tax.
The Budget is a big deal for all of us, since everything the Council does stems from it – it sets out how much of your money the Council is going to take from you, and what it will be spent on. The Lib Dems keep their Budget plans a closely-guarded secret, and even though it is now in the public realm, it is full of mysterious savings, the effect of which we will only find out when things start to go wrong.
The simple fact is that as far as the Lib Dems are concerned, if you if you are not a member of their council group, the Budget is none of your business. No effort has been made to find out what the priorities of local people are, or what their views are on the level of the Council Tax, and as opposition councillors, we have been given very little opportunity to make these points on your behalf. There was a sham “consultation” earlier in the year, involving the Council’s scrutiny committees, but that was it.
The Lib Dems have been in power at Stockport for over ten years now. When they first took control, the Band D Council Tax rate was £916.65 including the precepts for the Fire and Police Authorities. This year, it will £1559.96, and increase of well over 50%. Even allowing for inflation, this is a massive hike, despite Stockport receiving over £110 million more per year in Government funding than it did back in 1999. Stockport once again has the highest Council Tax rate in Greater Manchester. I don’t believe our Council services are good enough to justify such a hefty bill.
Walter Brett
Stockport Express- 04/03/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment