Local council set to raise council tax to protect key services
Following cuts from the Government, Richmond Council are set to raise council tax in order to protect local services.
The Council is facing reductions in Government grant amounting to 66% over 4 years. This means that, over the 4 years, it has to find savings of £31m, whilst coping with ever increasing demands for services.
Between 2009-2016, Richmond Council managed to freeze its Council Tax.
Last year, due to a reduced Government Grant Settlement and increasing pressure on social care budgets, the Council applied the Government’s social care precept to its budget. This led to a 1.48% increase in Council Tax in 2016/17.
Tomorrow, Cabinet Members will discuss proposals to accept a further 2% Government precept for social care as well as a 1.99% increase in Richmond’s element of the Council Tax.
Cllr Geoffrey Samuel, Deputy Leader of Richmond Council, said:bv olp
“For the past few years we have been successful in keeping Council Tax frozen or low. We are always very reluctant to increase Council Tax. However, with unprecedented Government cuts to our funding, and increased pressure on social care, it simply isn’t feasible to freeze the tax any more.
