3.99% rise in council tax is given approval

Photo: Darren Robinson

Councillor Abdul Jabbar.

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OLDHAM councillors approved a council tax rise of 3.99 per cent last night amid complaints that the Government had "slashed local government finances to the point of crisis".

At the heated full council meeting, councillors claimed they had been "left with no choice" but to increase council tax in order to continue to pay for vital council services, rising demand and adult social care costs.

Councillors approved the budget with council tax to increase by 1.99 per cent, the maximum a council can increase it by without having to hold a referendum, to pay for general council services.

An additional two per cent levy, allowed by the Government to go towards adult social care costs, has also been approved.

The increases will equate to just less than £5 per month for a Band D property.

The chamber also approved the 2017/18 budget proposals with the council required to find almost £15 million in savings to balance the books.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and HR, said the council would continue to show "true Northern grit and determination" and strive to deliver new projects despite increasingly challenging financial times.

He said: "We are an ambitious council and I would like to be announcing new exciting projects that would enhance our town. That is what our residents want and what they deserve.

"However, due to the dire financial crisis that local government is facing, in particular in the North, we must address our current position."

Councillor Jabbar pointed to the inequality between councils across the country through council tax bases, highlighting that a one per cent increase in council tax would earn Surrey Council an addition £6.2 million while the same rise in Oldham would only generate £793,000.

He said: "It is a postcode lottery that must be resolved if we are to have a sustainable local government going forward."

Seconding the budget, council leader Councillor Jean Stretton said: "This task is never easy but the financial challenges we face after years of government cuts make it tougher now than ever before."

Since 2009 Oldham Council has been forced to save more than £207 million from its budget. This year it has found £9.498 million savings with the shortfall made up from council reserves.

Charges

Reductions have come from sources including reducing the budget for stationary, printing and catering, a reduction of the number of borough life publications from four to three and budget reductions for the music and library services as well as smoking cessation services.

Council staff are also required to continue to take three days mandatory unpaid leave between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018. Staff will also see the two days leave for nil sickness in the previous year removed and the council will look to reduce agency staff.

However, the council scrapped two controversial budget proposals - the closure of the Link Centre and implementation of charges for residents' car parking permits - after public consultations.

Councillor Stretton thanked the public for their input during the budget consultation and for working with the council on a solution to allow the Link Centre to remain open under a new operating scheme.

However, she said: "If these cuts continue, I cannot promise we won't have more difficult decisions ahead because we are at the point where making further cuts without affecting frontline services that the public care passionately about will become virtually impossible."

The proposals were backed by 44 attending councillors, with one vote against (Independent Councillor Warren Bates) and nine abstentions from the Lib Dems.

A budget amendment proposal, submitted by the Lib Dems, was also debated.

The Lib Dems proposed several amendments including investing in highways, employing an extra gully cleaning team and restoring a free Bulky Bobs waste collection service in a bid to tackle fly-tipping. Their proposals also included reducing the number of councillors by a third and cuts to publications, printing and advertising.

Opposition leader Councillor Howard Sykes said: "We have identified additional savings or cuts we are convinced can be made without impacting on essential services and we have identified investments in core services that are most valued by our rate payers.

"What matters to most people are the issues they face every day in their communities - crumbling highways, dumped sofa beds, blocked gullies and feral youth engaged in anti-social behaviour."

He commended the council's finance team for putting the budget together and added that the Lib Dems fully support the Labour administration in resisting further cuts.

However, during a heated debate, the alternative budget was described as a "waste of time and resources" and was compared to "being written on the back of a fag packet" by Labour Councillor Shoab Akhtar.

The budget amendment was not carried, with 44 votes against, nine in favour, one abstention.