Rural taxpayers face rise in charges
December 17, 2010 10:00 AM
COUNCIL taxpayers in rural areas will see rising charges for some services as Government cuts come sooner than expected.
Rigged bids could have hit taxpayers Rural taxpayers face rise in charges
The cost of garden waste bins in Wychavon looks set to go up (it is currently £32 per year) and other charges will rise as all the county's councils digest news of cuts to their government grant.
In Malvern Hills, the district council's finance chief Ralph Madden is having an urgent meeting with the Government next week after branding the cuts "unfair".
Meanwhile, Wychavon District Council leader Paul Middlebrough believes the cuts may signal a long-term change in council funding.
He said: "What may happen is a council ends up with no government grant at all and we run services through council tax, business rates and charges. That might be on the horizon in four or five years."
Councils get most of their money from a single government grant, and it is this money which is being cut by 25 per cent of the grant total - £1.8 million - over the next two years in Wychavon.
In Malvern they will have to save £1.3 million - 27 per cent of the budget - by the end of 2012.
In Wychavon, the level of cuts was expected but over a longer period than two years. Wychavon's finance chief Councillor Bob Banks said: "We had hoped to make the savings over four years. There will be no large-scale service cuts to frontline services [such as waste collections]. We will be looking at increasing charges for some services."
Council tax will also be frozen, he added, with a decision on the budget expected in February 2011.
At Malvern, Councillor Ralph Madden said: "The poor funding settlement is penalising us for our success, instead of acknowledging our efficient financial management."
"This decision will force us to make savings from an already lean base."
He warned it would be "very difficult" to make the cuts without hitting frontline services
See: http://www.malverngazette.co.uk/archive/2010/12/17/Latest+%28wn_news_latest%29/8745284.Rural_taxpayers_face_rise_in_charges/
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