Burnham-On-Sea residents could face higher tax bills if a planned shake-up of local government in Somerset goes ahead, according to campaigners fighting the proposals.
A vote by Somerset County Council will be held on Monday January 22nd on whether to press ahead with a super-sized council, covering a county the size of Luxembourg and a population of 517,000 people.
But campaigners warn that the creation of a single authority would hit council tax payers hard in the pocket and threaten local services because of the estimated £35m cost of setting up a new administration.
Burnham’s local authority, Sedgemoor District Council, faces abolition if a single unitary authority were to be given the go-ahead by the Government.
The district councils are working together to present alternatives to the county council bid that would deliver savings whilst improving levels of service, being locally accountable and keeping council taxes as low as possible.
Cllr Duncan McGinty, Leader of Sedgemoor District Council (pictured above) said in a statement on Monday: “What is being proposed will lead to a huge waste of public money and should alarm anyone who cares passionately about Somerset and grass roots democracy.”
“The initial cost of reorganisation has been put at upwards of £35m – all this from a county council that already has a funding gap of millions and is juggling debts of nearly £400m.”
“Residents in Sedgemoor can expect to see their council tax bills soar under unitary status as Westminster has already said it will not underwrite the cost of scrapping the current two-tier system, which works perfectly well.”
“Worse, some of the services that we district authorities provide such as swimming pools, art centres and the upkeep of public toilets and arts, will be under threat as the new authority desperately looks for soft targets to somehow claw back money. We don’t have a mandatory responsibility for services like this, so they would be first to go.”
The County Council disputes the claims, saying a unitary council would deliver wide-reaching long-term cost benefits to residents across Somerset.
RELATED LINKS:
Burnham’s MP takes unitary debate to parliament
Unitary council plans move closer after county council vote
Burnham-On-Sea MP slams unitary council plans
