Leaders say cuts and Covid made tax hike necessary
ROSSENDALE council bosses say their council tax increase has been necessitated, in part, due to central government funding reductions and the impact of Covid-19.
A recommended 1.99pc precept increase was due to be approved at full council’s Budget meeting on Wednesday evening.
The rise will account for £5.56 out of the overall annual hike in council tax bills of £77.84 for ‘average’ Band D homes - following Lancashire County Council (LCC), police and fire precept rises of £55.87, £15, and £1.41 respectively.
The 3.99pc LCC increase was 1pc lower than forecast - with only a 2pc rise allocated to adult social care instead of the recommended 3pc.
Rossendale council said they retain around 14p in every pound to pay for services like collecting bins and tackling fly tipping, parks, housing, developing the economy, planning, and working with community groups.
Coun Andrew Walmsley, finance portfolio holder, said: “Our economic development work has seen us work with, and support, Rossendale businesses throughout this difficult period to make sure that when the economy is able to fully open again, we have as many viable and healthy businesses as possible.
“We have managed to bring in significant pots of money to fund work to improve our town centres and we will continue to investigate ways to generate and grow income through economic investment.”
The council say there has been no reduction in vital frontline services, despite the challenges of the past 12 months. They have also issued some funding to Rossendale Leisure Trust to support them through the pandemic.
Leader Alyson Barnes said: “The underfunding and cuts that local councils have had to endure over the past 11 years from central government always make budget decisions incredibly tough. If you add Covid into the mix as well, we were left with little choice but to increase the council tax.
“That being said the increase only amounts to around an average of 11 pence a week for most Rossendale residents.”
With a £1m carbon reduction fund being launched in 2021, she added: “Climate change is a huge issue and something that affects every single one of us. It’s not something that happens elsewhere, and we hope that with the capital investment made by the council over the life of this project we will see a real reduction in things like flooding which has badly affected the valley over recent years. We are already doing much to make a positive impact on climate change, such as extensive tree planting, sustainable transport, recycling targets and insulating homes. This ambitious strategy goes further than ever before to protect our environment by working together to make a positive impact both locally and globally.”