Bromsgrove Labour Group unveils alternative budget which it claims would reduce council tax bill - The Bromsgrove Standard

Bromsgrove Labour Group unveils alternative budget which it claims would reduce council tax bill

Bromsgrove Editorial 6th Mar, 2022   0

BROMSGROVE Labour Group claims its alternative budget would have seen the council tax reduced by one per cent, rather than a £5 per year increase of the district council’s bill for Band D households.

The party made several proposals, including using cash from reserves, cutting consultants Mott MacDonald (estimated to be costing £100,000-per-year) and others.

Labour leader Coun Peter McDonald said rather than facing a £5-per-year increase, Band D households would see a £2.30 reduction from the amount paid to BDC.

“When local residents are suffering the worst squeeze on wages in more than 200 years, the last thing hard-pressed households need right now is an increase in council tax.




“Families are bracing themselves for a £700-per-year hike in energy bills as gas producers make £750 in profit per second.

“Unlike many councils Bromsgrove has enough money in reserves to offset any increase.”


He also criticised the authority paying £400k for the four chief officers, adding it was ‘ludicrous’ to have that many high-earners for a local authority the size of Bromsgrove.

Coun Geoff Denaro, Bromsgrove District Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance and governance, said for the amount of work the four chief officers did, he felt the cost was ‘value for money’.

With regard to using the authority’s reserves, he added when external auditors looked at the council’s finances, it stressed the need to keep £1.5million minimum to ensure the authority had sufficient balances and was not in danger of getting into difficulty.

And he said, although this year’s included £750,000 from central Government, it was not known what that stream of funding would be in the future.

“We are planning long-term, not just for 2022/23,” he added.

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