Sedgemoor District Council will boost its coffers by around £200,000 following a decision on Wednesday (February 13th) to set its proportion of the Council Tax at 4.5 per cent.
The increase equates to a rise of £5.23 per year for a Band D property, totalling £121.38.
A one per cent increase on the Council Tax raises around £45,000 for Sedgemoor District Council, and the extra funds will be mainly channelled towards its key priorities of housing, regeneration and the environment.
The figures were set at a special budget meeting on Wednesday, where councillors also agreed to pay £9,000 towards the cost of cleaning Brean Beach on condition that Brean Parish Council also sets aside a similar budget.
The Leader of the district council, Cllr Duncan McGinty, pictured, said: “I am sure all of you are aware that this has been the most difficult budget that we have had to deal with, primarily because it is becoming impossibly difficult to make ends meet with the resources that are available.”
“The Local Government Association has described this year’s funding settlement as the worst in ten years for Local Government. Central government’s commitment to us over the next three years is one of reducing support despite escalating cost.”
“Sedgemoor, like many other councils across the country, faces the challenge of balancing its budget each year as the cost of services rises faster than the resources available to meet those costs. As such, we have to prioritise the services we deliver. This involves making difficult decisions in some services where we are not able to invest further.”
“This year has seen some very difficult decisions having to be taken by this Council. However in the spirit of the recent Government White Paper which encourages joint delivery of services we are pleased that by working with the Town and Parish Councils and joint funding, some facilities we will be able to retain some services and facilities that had been under threat of closure.”
“The Council has worked hard this year to meet the challenges of delivering a balanced budget. We have for many years sought to keep Council Taxes as low as possible and maintain Council services. The Council is proud of its record, over the years, of maintaining the lowest Council Tax across the county and has managed to contain increases for the coming year to only 4.5% – under the 5% capping limit – rising from £116.15 to £121.38 or 10p per week.”
