No extra charges for metro mayor
THE metro mayor has confirmed no precept will be added to Halton residents’ council tax bills for the upcoming financial year.
Steve Rotheram will not be adding a charge across the six areas of the Liverpool City Region – which includes the borough – in 2018-19.
A spokesman for Mr Rotheram’s office said at a time when the Government is asking taxpayers in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged areas to pay the price for their continuing cuts to the police and councils, members of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority believe it would be wrong to add further financial pressure on residents.
Explaining the decision, Mr Rotheram said: “Thanks to investment from the six local councils in the City Region, the Combined Authority will be able to support its core expenditure for 12 months without a precept.
“Over the next year further work will be done to identify a sustainable funding model for the long term.
“Our devolution deal guaranteed £900m of additional public money into our City Region over 30 years and we have been investing that in projects that will create more jobs, apprenticeships and economic growth.
“Since my election we have been successful in attracting nearly half a billion pounds in additional money to support investment in roads, transport and combatting homelessness.
“Devolution is delivering a massive net financial gain to our area and as long as there is no need to add to the size of local tax bills, we will avoid doing that.”
Weekly News sister paper, the Manchester Evening News, has reported that it understands council taxpayers in Greater Manchester are due to be hit by a charge of around £10 to fund the area’s metro mayor Andy Burnham’s office and its functions from April.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Budget will be presented at a meeting on Friday, February 2. ●