Town council agrees to freeze council tax levy
Wednesday, 22nd February 2012.
For the first time Haverhill Town Council has agreed to freeze its council tax levy for the coming year.
This means the only increase likely in the council tax figure for 2012/13 will come from Suffolk Police Authority, although that is still being discussed.
Suffolk County Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council have both agreed on a freeze for another year.
The town council's freeze is being achieved by drawing on its reserves to the rtune of £24,000, a policy which outgoing town clerk Gordon Mussett said he could not recommend as a regular policy.
The town council last year put up its council tax levy to cover any shortfall if St Edmundsbury cut its grant to the Arts Centre.
That has happened this year so the town council will not receive the grant it had been receiving in past years (£158,000 last year), and will need to use the extra money raised.
Members agreed the freeze at their meeting last night, at which deputy town mayor Cllr Pat Hanlon thanked Mr Mussett for advising them to raise the levy last year, and thanked members for agreeing to it.
"If we hadn't done that we would have been in deep trouble this year," he said.
Town mayor Cllr Maureen Byrne admitted last year's decision to raise council tax had given her sleepless nights, but it had proved justified in the end.
She agreed a freeze this year was the right course. "I think, with all the unemplpoyment in Haverhill and people losing their benefits etc, there is a lot of poverty in the town," she said.
"So it would be worth taking a risk (and I don't think this is a risk) this year. The residents of the town deserve this and it is our responsibility to keep council tax down."
Cllr Clive Turner said there were a number of items in the budget this year which would not recur, such as money to support local efforts to take over running the community centres.
He described the decision to use some reserves as 'a calculated risk' and a sensible one.
If the council had decided not to use the £24,000 from its reserves, it would have had to put council tax up by about £3 on a band D property.
As it is that figure will remain at £107.80.
Cllr Phillip French, who is also a county councillor, said freezing the levy was in line with the other councils, which left just the police authority wanting to raise its precept.
The chief constable has requested the increase to keep officer numbers above 1,200, which he considers crucial. However, Cllr French said 'pressure' was being applied not to make the increase, so the decision was not yet finally agreed.
This means the only increase likely in the council tax figure for 2012/13 will come from Suffolk Police Authority, although that is still being discussed.
Suffolk County Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council have both agreed on a freeze for another year.
The town council's freeze is being achieved by drawing on its reserves to the rtune of £24,000, a policy which outgoing town clerk Gordon Mussett said he could not recommend as a regular policy.
The town council last year put up its council tax levy to cover any shortfall if St Edmundsbury cut its grant to the Arts Centre.
That has happened this year so the town council will not receive the grant it had been receiving in past years (£158,000 last year), and will need to use the extra money raised.
Members agreed the freeze at their meeting last night, at which deputy town mayor Cllr Pat Hanlon thanked Mr Mussett for advising them to raise the levy last year, and thanked members for agreeing to it.
"If we hadn't done that we would have been in deep trouble this year," he said.
Town mayor Cllr Maureen Byrne admitted last year's decision to raise council tax had given her sleepless nights, but it had proved justified in the end.
She agreed a freeze this year was the right course. "I think, with all the unemplpoyment in Haverhill and people losing their benefits etc, there is a lot of poverty in the town," she said.
"So it would be worth taking a risk (and I don't think this is a risk) this year. The residents of the town deserve this and it is our responsibility to keep council tax down."
Cllr Clive Turner said there were a number of items in the budget this year which would not recur, such as money to support local efforts to take over running the community centres.
He described the decision to use some reserves as 'a calculated risk' and a sensible one.
If the council had decided not to use the £24,000 from its reserves, it would have had to put council tax up by about £3 on a band D property.
As it is that figure will remain at £107.80.
Cllr Phillip French, who is also a county councillor, said freezing the levy was in line with the other councils, which left just the police authority wanting to raise its precept.
The chief constable has requested the increase to keep officer numbers above 1,200, which he considers crucial. However, Cllr French said 'pressure' was being applied not to make the increase, so the decision was not yet finally agreed.
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