Labour councillors criticise Shrewsbury Town Council for 'rushing' through plans to take on additional services that will see its precept almost double
Labour councillors have criticised the Liberal Democrat-controlled Shrewsbury Town Council for “rushing” through plans to take on additional services that will see its precept almost double.
On Monday evening (January 12), the council’s Policy & Resources Committee recommended that the precept – the amount that the local authority will receive from council taxpayers – will jump by 94.56% to £4,692,978.
If approved by Full Council on January 26, it would see a Band D property pay an additional £1.23 a week. This, Shrewsbury Town Council say, reflects the cost of taking on devolved street cleaning services from Shropshire Council, such as street cleaning, litter picking and bin emptying.
It comes after a survey carried out by Shrewsbury Town Council showed that 76% of people wanted to see services protected, even if it costs more.
However, Labour councillors argued that the rise should be limited 25%. They also criticised the Lib Dems’plans on future service delivery and proposed an amendment.
“This because of concerns about the transparency, the operation, and not least the increased costs for the people of Shrewsbury,” said Councillor Alan Mosley.
“We believe the plans as presented are extremely rushed, incomplete, lacking in due diligence with significant risks, and not been adequately assessed.
“We have great concerns about the financial burden on Shrewsbury council taxpayers, especially at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living crisis.”
Fellow Labour councillor, Kate Halliday, added: “I’m not questioning the competency of our staff here or our ability to deliver a really good service, I’m questioning our ability to actually do this at the moment because we are being pushed and rushed in.
“This is taxpayers’ money. There are some legitimate concerns here.”
The amendment, however, failed, with Greens councillor, Julian Dean saying that Shrewsbury residents “will find it a bit rich” that it has come from a Labour party that he says has failed to lift the two child benefit cap for two years, and tried to take money away from the disabled.
“We should take it seriously and challenge it, but we haven’t had all the information from Shropshire Council,” said Cllr Dean.
“I think it is a leap of faith. On balance, it is one we have to take, because if we don’t it is very possible that some of these services will collapse.
Leader of the council, Rob Wilson, said: “We are meeting at a time of exceptional challenge for local government.
“For residents, businesses and visitors to Shrewsbury, the consequenes of further service reductions would be serious – not just for cleanliness, but for civic pride, the local economy and confidence in local government.
“This is not something we seek lightly, and it is not without risk. But there are also very real risks in doing nothing.
“If we stand still, I have no doubt that we will see further service reductions, declining environmental standards and a loss of local control.”
