Council’s budget ‘focused on residents’ priorities’
Mid Sussex District Council’s portion of the 2022/23 council tax bill will rise by 2.8 per cent in April – an increase of £4.95 for a Band D home.
The change – which will take the bill to £180.36 – was approved alongside the 2022/23 budget during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, March 2.
Coupled with precepts from parish/town councils, West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police, this means the average council tax bill will break the £2,000 mark, coming in at £2,038.26.
As for the budget, the final figures proved to be healthier than previously feared.
In January, a budget gap of £545,000 was forecast but in the end it stood at £181,000.
The gap will be closed through the use of money from the general reserve.
Things look a little rockier later down the line, with a gap of £1.395m forecast for 2023/24.
The budget includes £17.7m of revenue spending – money spent on the day-today running of the council – and £1.92m of new capital projects.
They include the replacement of the district’s rubbish and recycling wheelie bins over the next two years and the next phase of the Oaklands window replacement programme.
Leader Jonathan AshEdwards said: “This is a delivery focused budget, focused on residents’ priorities.
“We are recovering from the impact of the Covid pandemic and this budget and corporate plan is about what we’re going to do next to deliver on the things that residents tell us are important to them – some of which have been delayed due to the pandemic and all the pressures that has brought.”