Freeze in borough's council tax agreed
HAVANT'S council tax has been frozen in a bid to ease the financial burden on residents.
Havant Borough Council agreed residents should instead pay more for parking charges across the borough and for services such as hiring a football pitch.
Council leader TonyBriggs said it was time to give ratepayers a break – at least for the borough's portion of the council tax.
He said: "I believe that continued increase in council taxation is unsustainable given the present economic state of this country."
He added: "This council must avoid burdening future generations with high levels of debt and taxation. We need to be much more innovative in our approach to service delivery."
In response Labour leader Councillor Terry Hart tabled an amendment asking for a two per cent increase and warned that freezes back in the 1990s put the council under huge financial pressure.
The amendment was shot down by the leading Tory party but Cllr Hart said: "It is one thing to have an aspiration but it's another to ignore the consequences of the future prosperity of the borough."
He said staff had been cut and would continue to be if they did not make an increase in the council's share.
Cllr Briggs rejected the claims. He said: "There have been no redundancies.
"Any reduction in staff has been through natural wastage or by not replacing people. There is a very good reason for that.
"While we go through the process of looking at a joint management structure with East Hampshire, there is no point in us replacing these staff until we're aware of what that structure is."
The council already shares its chief executive – Sandy Hopkins - with East Hampshire District Council, since a pioneering agreement was reached last autumn.
He warned that over the next financial year there would be a review of non-statutory services – such as community organisations.
Band D property residents will pay 192.78. Last year residents faced a 3.9 per cent increase in council tax and 4.9 per cent the year before.
Including Hampshire County Council's share of the council tax and precepts for Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, people living in a Band D property will pay a total of 1438.29 for the financial year 2010/ 2011.
The Hayling Islander would like to point out that the report about council tax increases in this month's paper contained out of date and incorrect figures for the financial year 2010/11.
We would like to apologse for the error and any misunderstanding it may have caused.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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