South Bucks DC Council Tax Consultation

At its meeting on 12th January the South Bucks Cabinet agreed that it wished to inform key local partners of the draft revenue budget for 2010/11, and invite any comments they may have on the budget before making final decisions in February.

The Council’s budget continues to be significantly affected by the poor economic situation that the country is in. It has been particularly been adversely affected by the low level of interest rates where the investment interest income has reduced by £550,000 or 34%, since 2008/09. This reduction of 34%, in council tax terms would equate to a 12% increase.

n the draft budget for 2010/11 the Council is proposing savings of over £600,000, and as far as possible these will have a minimal impact on direct services to the public. The Council however is approaching the point where it will be difficult to deliver significant further savings without impacting on services.
In the context of the financial austerity that the Council is faced with it has not been possible to identify any funding for new projects or developments, and the emphasis has been on trying to preserve current service levels and standards. The Council has also reduced its capital programme for 2010/11 as part of it response to the overall financial situation.

The draft revenue budget being proposed would result in the district element of the council tax being around £143 for a Band D property, an increase of approximately 2%. It is worth noting that the Council’s grant from Central Government only increases by 0.5% in the coming year. The Council believes it is right in times of general financial hardship to limit the level of the council tax increase. To limit the increase to 2% will require the Council to apply up to £900,000 of its forecast £1,500,000 reserves. This will probably leave the reserves at around the prudent minimum level for an authority such as South Bucks.

In the medium term over the next two to three years, the Council will be planning further reduction to its expenditure in order to bring income and expenditure into balance without the use of reserves.
More detailed information about the budget can be found in the Cabinet Agenda for January 2010 which is available on the link below.

In conclusion I would be grateful to receive any comments you may wish to share with the Cabinet by 8th February, so that they can be taken into account by the Cabinet at its meeting in February where it will make final proposals to the full Council on the 2010/11 budget.