The full Council meeting of Christchurch Borough Council has agreed a small increase in its element of the Council Tax for 2014/15.
The Borough Council’s element of the Council Tax will see an increase of less than seven pence per week for a band D property.
In his speech to the council, Cllr Mike Duckworth, portfolio holder for Performance, said: “We believe that it is right to apply small but affordable increases of below £4 per annum to Council Tax to significantly protect the income needed to continue the services we intend to deliver in the future.
“It will also protect our tax payers from the probability of a large increase in the near future when we could be approaching what our auditors Grant Thornton call the ‘tipping point’. This is expected by a majority of councils to arrive in 2017/18 and it is when councils are unable to set a balanced budget and are unable to meet their statutory responsibilities.
“I believe that we have a better degree of control over the future because of the difficult yet necessary decisions we have made. We cannot afford to be complacent however and will need to fundamentally examine our allocation of resources going forward. I will be working with the Corporate Team to ensure that this is undertaken and continues the prudent and robust financial management of public funds that we see as essential to fulfilling our responsibilities to the public.”
The increase of 1.95 per cent will see Christchurch Council’s element of the Council Tax for a Band D property set at £181.45 (increased from £177.98 in 2013/14). The total Council Tax payable for a Band D property, including contributions to Dorset County Council, Dorset Police and Dorset Fire Authority, will be £1,626.67. For residents in the parish of Hurn it will be £1,653.54 and residents of the parish of Burton £1,638.45.
