Council tax is set to be frozen in Mansfield
MANSFIELD District Council’s cabinet is proposing to freeze council tax for 2022/23 following confirmation that the council will receive a larger than expected grant from the Government.
Councillor Craig Whitby, portfolio holder for corporate and finance, said his original proposals to increase council tax by 1.99 percent had changed after a spending review on December 16 confirmed additional grants of £401,000.
The cabinet originally announced in October that council tax would rise to help plug a £1.3m gap in its finances.
An increase in the council tax base and interest received means the council now has a revised savings target of £1.08m.
Councillor Whitby, Deputy Mayor of Mansfield, will present the new proposal to freeze council tax to the overview and scrutiny committee (corporate) on January 6 as part of cabinet’s feedback on the committee’s recommendations.
Latest savings proposals include a freeze on council tax in 2022/23, a one-off use of £100,000 for earmarked services and a trade glass collection service, which will deliver an additional £5,000 in income in 2022/23.
The council tax freeze means those living in Band A properties would continue to pay a total of £129.81 for the year in 2022/23.
Councillor Whitby said: “The recent confirmation of a higherthan-expected Government grant means we are in a position where we no longer need to increase our portion of council tax.
“This would be good news for Mansfield residents, many of whom continue to be affected by the pandemic.
“Our original decision to propose an increase was not an easy one to make for this reason but was necessary based on the information we had at the time.”
Proposed service developments by Mansfield District Council include £26,000 to be invested in parks, £30,000 to be added to its economic stimulus fund and £10,000 to be added to the council tax hardship fund.