Council expected to increase tax by 2.5 percent (From Epsom Guardian)

Council expected to increase tax by 2.5 percent

8:20am Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By Lauren May

Epsom and Ewell Council is expected to follow Surrey County Council (SCC) in rejecting a government grant to freeze council tax and instead increase it by 2.5 percent.

The council has said that accepting the government’s grant would lead to a £390,000 "black hole" over a three year period and would threaten services.

Residents Association Councillor Neil Dallen, chair of the strategy and resources committee, said: "We looked very hard at whether or not to accept the freeze, but in the end the Residents Association group of councillors came to the conclusion that this would not be in the long term interests of our residents nor the financial stability of the borough.

"As this is a one year only freeze we would be faced with the need to make up a shortfall of £130,000 a year, which would have a very harmful impact on the level of services we could continue to provide our residents."

The increase will be the equivalent of 8 pence per week for an average band D council tax payer, or an extra £4.08p per year.

Last week SCC and the Surrey Police Authority, who collect council tax contributions from Epsom and Ewell residents, also agreed to increase council tax by 2.99 and 2.5 per cent respectively.

Based on a band D household that equates to £33.28 and £4.95 extra a year bringing the total additional yearly cost for Epsom and Ewell residents to £42.31 per year.

Coun Dallen added: "With inflation over 3.5 per cent and against the backdrop of significant cuts to central government funding, we believe the 2.5 per cent increase is a prudent step.

"Epsom and Ewell’s council tax will remain well below the average in Surrey and our borough will continue to be one of the best places to live and work in the country, as there will be no service cuts - just as we promised last year."

The council has said that all services provided by the council will continue as part of their proposed budget for 2012/13, while net expenditure will be reduced for a second year running.

The council will vote on the recommendation to increase council tax and set budget for 2012/13 at a full council meeting on Tuesday, February 21.