So just what do we get for 3.5%? (From The Argus)

So just what do we get for 3.5%?

I AM very disappointed to hear that Councillor Jason Kitcat has already decided to increase council tax by 3.5% in the next Budget (The Argus, July 9).

The savings required by central Government over the next few years were frontloaded, meaning that last year’s Budget had the greatest amount of savings to be found.

My Conservative budget last year was not done by “salami slicing” as stated by Coun Kitcat, but by going through each of the council’s departments and looking at the expenditure line by line, alongside the cabinet member and officers responsible.

We also looked at doing things differently where needed and ensuring that we negotiated new payment contracts if the payments seemed to be extreme.

This was why we did not have to make any cuts to local services and why we were able to offer a 1% decrease in council tax last year, (voted down by all the other parties).

You probably will not have heard that last year’s budget came in £2.5 million under budget, which represented about 2.5% in council tax.

So, adding this to the 3.5% that Coun Kitcat has already said residents will be charged next year, it appears he’s increasing his budget by 6%.

Alongside going through the departments’ expenditure line by line, and saving almost £10m in waste over the four years the Conservatives were in administration, we also had a ‘Value For Money’ programme, which I monitored closely with regular meetings with departments and officers.

If this continues to be monitored correctly, it will generate up to £45 million over the next three years on its own – much more than the amount of savings required to be made by central Government.

I see that Coun Kitcat is to continue with our Conservative pledges of looking after the most vulnerable, using resident’s money more efficiently and working closely with all partners in the city.

What I really fear, though, is that he will have to make a large number of cuts and blame it on central Government, rather than the Greens’ mismanagement of the healthy financial situation they found themselves inwhen taking over the administration from the Conservatives.

Jan Young, former cabinet member of finance for the Conservatives

JUST two months into running Brighton and Hove City Council, the unrealistic slogans that the Green Party bandied about can now be seen for what they were – empty promises.

Prior to May’s local elections, the Green party was insisting they would “resist all cuts” and professed concern over the cumulative impact of Government cuts to benefits and allowances.

Once in power, they naively thought that a trip to see Tory Minister Eric Pickles, described by the Green’s leader as “a nice man”, would put things right and exempt them from having to make any cuts when all other councils were busy getting to grips with reality.

Having failed, they are now passing on the fall-out from their ill-thought-through promises to local tax-payers.

Those on Band D could face a significant increase under these Green plans.

But I’m sure that people will be greatly reassured to know, when trying to juggle their increased fuel, food and tax bills, that the Greens are going to sort things out by telling the Government to overhaul the whole local taxation system.

Meanwhile, down at the sharp end of things, there is no mention at all of how the Greens will be implementing the 10% cut to the council tax subsidy that will further increase the burden on those least able to afford it.

Perhaps they will write a letter.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group, Brighton and Hove City Council

VOTERS made a catastrophic error in giving the Greens power.

Whereas the Tories froze council tax and solved the ongoing rubbish problem with large bins, the Greens embrace travellers, encourage protest groups and now will increase council tax by 3.5%.

The sooner the public can boot them out of office, the better.

John Pearce, Frederick Gardens, Brighton

WITH reference to the council tax rise of 3.5% (The Argus, July 9), let’s hope Brighton and Hove City Council spends some of this increase on the homeless and the disabled.

They should also spend some of it on helping the elderly and children. Let’s see some action, and quickly.

Ray Wootton, Stanmer Avenue, Saltdean