Ways to keep council tax down
Wednesday 4th February 2009, 7:31AM GMT.
LETTER: Telford & Wrekin Council has got to find about £3 million of economies in order to keep council tax rises to about 3.5 per cent. This equates to about six per cent of council tax.
Let me give some idea how this could be achieved.
In 2007/2008 £1.125 million was uncollected in council tax by T&W – about 2.2 per cent of council tax. Transforming Telford, a private company with 14 board members, gets £.922 million – about two per cent on the council tax. If we do not have council executives capable of doing this job are we getting value for money?
The T&W publicity budget last year was £1.58 million – another three per cent on council tax. A good council generates its own publicity.
Contributions to councillors’ pensions is 14.4 per cent of councillors’ allowances. So if for example there are 30 councillors in the scheme on the basic of £7,000 the council pays £1,000 per annum into their pension fund while they pay £420. Stop this and save £30,000.
If these things alone were addressed there could be a saving of about 7.2 per cent, so we need have no rise.
D L Barnett
Arleston
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As someone who does not live in Telford may I comment on the suggestions made?
The uncollected tax is just that – uncollected. It may represent people who may have to be put into court and have visits from the bailiffs, or people who have moved owing money who cannot be found. Either way it would be simplistic to assume that 100% of the tax can be collected – even the best councils cannot achieve this.
Transforming Telford – well if you dissolved the Board and brought it back in house it would still be spending money. The only way to cut back would be to stop the drive to promote Telford – which may or may not be a good thing!
Publicity and councillors pensions – publicity YES – councillors must make the decision on their perks – aided by the voters???
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Once again, DL speaks buckets of sense.
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They might save some money but cutting back on all the wonderful fancy new council buildings/developments, these have to be financed somehow and guess who pays for it and how it is collected.
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Well it seems that the telford tax that those who pay, lose out to those to those who claim for rent, and tax credit,then dont pass the rent on, but get given a brand new 4 bedroom house, in return, leaving landlords out of pocket and stuck with houses they cant let, because of tennancy abandament rules.
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