From our District Councillor
No Increase In Council Tax This Next Year.
Throughout the last month, Committees at East Cambridgeshire District Council have been assessing proposals to save more than £2 million over the next four years to balance its budget.
The tough choices were as a result of the Government announcing cuts of nearly 29 percent to the Councils main Government Grant for only the next two years without indicating what will happen from 2012 and potential issues such as the housing benefit overspend which is predicted to grow.
Members have debated and scrutinised proposals from across the council for ways to ensure the authority could meet the demands made on it. At the recent Policy and Resources Committee, Members agreed to send a four year financial plan to Full Council on Tuesday the 22nd of February, these included:
- Freezing its council tax rate for next year
- A reorganisation of committees and members allowances
- Reducing office administration costs
- Increases in some fees and charges such as licences and planning applications
- Reductions in community grants and support for voluntary groups -in the majority of cases this will be less than the scale of cuts the Council has received to its Government Grant
- Potential staff savings of over £300,000 and freezing or deferring recruitment to vacant posts
A review of costs associated with waste and recycling, including looking for efficiency savings in the current waste contract and at payments made to parish councils for keeping recycling banks on their land.
Weekly Collection Of Black Sacks To Remain.
Residents have expressed relief that we will be maintaining the weekly collection. It makes no sense to have rotting food waste and nappies being left with residents for up to 14 days at a time.
CCTV Goes Local.
CCTV for Ely and Soham used to be run from a bunker in Cambridge and cost taxpayers £113,000 per year!
That will change this year when the service is transferred into local hands. Screens and trained volunteers will be based in Ely police station. Ely City Council and Soham Town Council will run a more responsive service at a lower cost; saving you nearly £40,000 per year.
More Funds For Villages.
The council has made funding available from section 106 monies so that now any village with fewer than 3000 residents is now eligible to apply for 100% grants for local projects. These can be anything from restoring a play area to moving a bus stop, any community organisation can apply.