‘We’re being careful with every penny,’ says Green councillor (From The Argus)
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‘We’re being careful with every penny,’ says Green councillor
9:00am Wednesday 27th July 2011 in Your Argus
How quick the Conservative and Labour councillors are to criticise, yet it is both their parties who argue the devastating budget cuts being imposed on us are necessary.
Greens disagree and we are campaigning hard to change national policies which will harm the poorest and most vulnerable residents of our city. We face a 33% cut in the council’s formula grant over four years.
Conservatives are being disingenuous in claiming they had no plans for a 2.5% council tax increase. On February 17 the Conservative adminis- tration’s cabinet voted for a Medium Term Financial Strategy which included a 2.5% council tax increase for the next three financial years.
Will Jan Young and Coun Ann Norman withdraw their statements to the contrary?
Let’s be clear, the discussion currently under way is about the next council budget for the financial year 2012/13. It is highly misleading to suggest the underspend from the last financial year (2010/11) – which in their dying days Conservatives had already programmed into the current year’s budget (2011/12) – should have anything to do with the next year (2012/13).
It will be up to all councillors to vote on what the next budget will be, including council tax.
We understand the challenge everyone’s finances are facing. We are being careful with every penny.
The proposed 3.5% increase is below inflation and will cost a Band D taxpayer 85p more a week compared with this year’s tax rate. Meanwhile, the council needs to reduce its spend by up to 15% in the next two years.
Our whole budget approach will be to face that challenge in the most open, inclusive and sensitive way possible.
I encourage all readers of The Argus to participate in the consultation process when it starts later this year.
Coun Jason Kitcat, Green Cabinet member for Finance and Central Services, Brighton and Hove City Council
Comments(7)
bug eye
says...
12:29pm Wed 27 Jul 11
Charismatic Andrew
says...
1:22pm Wed 27 Jul 11
bug eye wrote:If you want better roads and better pavements (which I'm sure we all do), don't expect it to be paid for by this Council Tax increase. As Kitcat quite rightly says the increase is below inflation and is at a time when the grant from Central Government is being slashed. If you want better roads and pavements you'll need to respond to the consultation and tell the Council where else they should be making savings. And no, dropping the Council rebranding isn't going to pay for better roads and pavements.
what the greens need to remember is that they need to look after all residents, council tax paying voters too, if the bills are to go up then we expect better roads, better pavements, 21st century planning policies etc. etc. and not to forget to drop this stupid ugly council re branding logo, and give us back our iconic identity.
quedula
says...
1:51pm Wed 27 Jul 11
graham_Seagull wrote:It is a good statement, untainted with party dogma, and one feels able to believe every word of it. Not something one experiences often with politicians.
A very refreshingly open statement from a council...now that doesnt happen that often!
Morpheus
says...
5:00pm Wed 27 Jul 11
Warren Morgan
says...
6:20pm Wed 27 Jul 11
I welcome Jason's invitation to an open budget setting discussion - a real improvement on the previous administration. However he criticizes the Labour & Co-operative Group for suggesting cuts are unavoidable. The Greens campaigned ahead of the local elections on "resisting all cuts as far as is practicable", but the reality is that without a change of government these cuts are coming, whatever Caroline Lucas says or the Green-led council does.
The Greens are not in a position to cancel Trident or pull out of Afghanistan or tax the bankers more, let alone divert that money to local government. So anyone who voted Green under the impression that the Greens would stop the cuts happening was misguided.
None of us want cuts and we can argue about who is responsible for them happening, but the effects on council services and finances are almost certainly unavoidable.
bug eye
says...
11:56pm Wed 27 Jul 11
graham_Seagull says...
11:12am Wed 27 Jul 11