Cotswold Chatterblog

Date: February 6, 2008

Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet today recommended a 4.9% council tax increase for next year - which includes a 1.1% levy to tackle flood prevention.

Cabinet members voted unanimously to opt for a 3.8% rise, plus an additional 1.1% investment in drainage clearance (option 2 in the recent council tax survey).

The recommendation comes after Gloucestershire was hit by the worst flooding in 60 years during Summer 2007 - leaving the council with costs of £35 million and the likelihood of further floods in the future.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Resources, presented the budget report to Cabinet, he said: “This decision has been a difficult one but acknowledges the huge amount of public feeling we’ve seen since the floods of 2007, with people asking for much more investment in our drainage systems. I want to thank everyone who took part in our residents’ survey, the results of which have influenced the decision we’ve made here today. We are still committed to keeping costs low and providing excellent services, but this additional levy, if approved by council, will help us to address the urgent work needed to protect residents against future flooding.”

Cabinet’s decision was supported by the results of the recent council tax survey, in which the majority of people who took part (56.7%) voted for some kind of additional flood levy. In response, the Cabinet has chosen Option 2, which is a 3.8% council tax increase with an additional 1.1% to create a £2.3m ‘flood fighting fund’. This enables the council to raise £4m to spend on capital projects, so in 2008/09 the council will be dedicating over £6m in total to flood relief projects.

The council tax increase would equate to £1036 a year for a band D property, an increase of 93p per week.

The proposal will now go before a meeting of Full Council on 20th February, where all county councillors meet to make the final decision on next year’s council tax and budget. The meeting will take place at 10am In the Council Chamber, Shire Hall, Gloucester and is open to the public.

Source: Gloucestershire County Council

Related articles:
Gloucestershire Council tax survey results released
County Council gives public choice over council tax
Cotswold Council sets £10m budget for 2008/09

Tags: gloucestershire | property | floods

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