Council Tax freeze for Bury residents
10:40am Saturday 25th February 2012 in News
COUNCIL tax bills in Bury will be frozen for a second successive year although local authority tenants face an average rents increase of 6.2 per cent.
The decisions were endorsed at a special council budget meeting last night (Wed) which also approved savings of almost £8.9 million for the next financial year as part of a package of cuts totalling £17.7 million between now and 2015. This comes on top of savings of £14.4 million being made in the current financial year. Council leader Mike Connolly said: “The budget cuts imposed on the council by the Government are massive and unprecedented in scale. It’s not what we want to do, but we have been left with no choice and we have another two years to go.”
The council also agreed to three amendments to the original budget proposals. These are to scrap the controversial car parking charges at Fairfax Road, Prestwich, to reverse plans to charge Blue Badge holders to park as from next month and to provide an extra £100,000 for youth services.
The total savings made for the coming financial year involve almost £8 million in cuts plus an extra £800,000 to find as a result of keeping the council tax down.
Comments(6)
Babbar Divino
says...
8:32pm Thu 23 Feb 12
mercman0161
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7:48am Fri 24 Feb 12
pablozabaleta
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9:42am Fri 24 Feb 12
Interesting that the BT is leading with this story and not the big cuts. Probably to avoid a million comments involving the Tory-supporters blaming Labour and the Labour-supporters blaming the Tories.
buryreader
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7:57pm Sat 25 Feb 12
I am not sure about the blue badge scheme, there are arguments on both sides which have obviously been taken into account, People with the disability badge are entitled to the mobility allowance of DLA, this money is to pay for transport costs, not sure why it should be free, but it is not has black and white has this.
mercman0161
says...
8:38pm Sat 25 Feb 12
buryreader wrote:But the private sector is being asked to reduce it's rent. Local housing allowance (Housing benefit) is also being reduced to the private sector and tenants are being told to try and negotiate this with the landlord. Yes the decision on the council tax is excellent news. Every little helps so the saying goes.
A good decision by the council on the council tax, LA tenants were told a few years ago that the rent will continue to rise til it is more in-line with private sector, they are still eligible for housing benefit if there circumstances fit.
I am not sure about the blue badge scheme, there are arguments on both sides which have obviously been taken into account, People with the disability badge are entitled to the mobility allowance of DLA, this money is to pay for transport costs, not sure why it should be free, but it is not has black and white has this.
dderbydave says...
11:38am Thu 23 Feb 12