Council set to deliver its lowest tax rise in more than a decade

COUNCILLORS in Rotherham are considering a council tax increase of just 2.7 per cent this year – the lowest rise in more than a decade.

A report set to be considered by Rotherham Council's cabinet committee next week will propose the rise, which compares with increases of 4.9 per cent, 4.8 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent in the previous four years.

This would mean a council tax bill of 1,230 a year for an "average" Band D property, although 80 per cent of people living in Rotherham live in houses in bands A to C and would therefore pay less than this.

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The report also proposes investing additional money in certain departments, to protect essential services during the economic downturn.

Additional investment of 3.1m is proposed for children and young people's services, along with an extra 1.3m for older people's services and an additional 140,000 to fund community projects through Rotherham's area assemblies.

Leader of Rotherham Council, Coun Roger Stone, said that the budget proposals would involve reducing the cost of support services and other overheads to fund the additional investment for community services.

He added: "Our job is to balance the need for essential frontline services whilst keeping the council tax to an absolute minimum – which we have achieved for the past five years.

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"This has, however, been a difficult budget round, and we still have more work to do before we finalise our spending plans."

Rotherham Council's biggest proposed investment would be in children and young people's services, where the additional money would fund more than 30 staff working in the service's locality teams; support cared-for children; pay for extra staff in children's homes and also fund new technology to improve access to social care systems and information.

Although it is the lowest council tax increase for more than a decade, bills in Rotherham are still set to rise more than those in neighbouring Doncaster, Barnsley and Sheffield.

The leading Liberal Democrat group in Sheffield has unveiled a 1.5 per cent council tax increase for this year – the lowest ever announced by the authority – and said the council still plans to deliver a zero per cent settlement in two years.

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The Liberal Democrats, who took control of Sheffield Council in 2008, said they had been voted in after pledging to cut council tax and would stick to that pledge.

In Doncaster, elected mayor Peter Davies has drawn up a budget which would see council tax bills fall by three per cent, or 32 a year on a band D home.

He has been told by senior councillors that his budget, which would save 40m in the next four years, is "totally unacceptable" in light of Doncaster Council's well-publicised difficulties and has been advised instead to raise council tax by 2.95 per cent.

Barnsley Council, meanwhile, yesterday announced a council tax of 2.5 per cent, which it says takes into account "the prevailing economic position and current rates of inflation".

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Last year Barnsley Council also introduced a council tax discount scheme for over-65s, which is set to continue into the next financial year. To qualify, people must also not be in receipt of council tax benefit.

Budget recommendations put forward by Rotherham Council's cabinet committee will be presented to a full council meeting on Wednesday, March 3, when both the council budget and the council tax level will be set.

Next week's cabinet committee meeting in Rotherham will take place on Wednesday.