Aiming for a Council Tax Freeze

In these incredibly difficult economic times, residents rightly expect the Council to do all it can to keep Council tax bills down while protecting front line services. That has been my key priority since being elected as Mayor in October last year, and this week Finance Portfolio Holder Michael Headley announced our aim to freeze Council tax next year. This will be an extremely tough task, but after years of inflation-busting tax rises and poor services under the Conservative County Council, local residents deserve better.

Two below-inflation council tax rises have followed since the demise of the County Council in April last year, and we will leave no stone unturned as we work to find the efficiency savings that would enable us to freeze council tax for residents next year. The government declared this week that it will work in partnership with local authorities who want to freeze council tax. We do not yet have details of what this will mean in practice, but we will carry on with the job of working ceaselessly to achieve savings for local taxpayers and to keep their tax bills down.