Council tax to be lower than inflation (From Stroud News and Journal)

Council tax to be lower than inflation

FINANCE chiefs at Stroud District Council have announced that council tax for 2006-2007 will be set at below the rate of inflation.

The rise to the taxpayer's bill will remain at 2.5%, beneath the 2.7% rate of inflation cited by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

And once again, Stroud District Council will have the lowest rate of council tax in Gloucestershire for the 2006/07 financial year.

Stroud District Council's portion of the bill, which accounts for around 13% of the total, will rise from around £165 last year to around £169 this year.

Precepts from the emergency services, parish councils and Gloucestershire County Council have yet to be announced.

One of the most obvious benefits is a £280,000 new initiative that will entitle everyone over 60 in the district to a free bus pass. It will replace the bus tokens scheme and begin in April.

Chas Fellows, Conservative leader of Stroud District Council, identified the council's financial priorities for the coming year as regeneration, promoting tourism and provisions for the elderly.

He attributed the low increase to a combination of prudent budgeting by council finance chiefs and heavy subsidies from central government.

"I am very pleased because I am now 60 and will qualify for the free bus pass, though I am still concerned by the overall costs to the council," he said.

"But we have exceeded government requirements for savings by some considerable amount.

"I think regeneration is by far the biggest receptor of funding in the district. "We have also spent a lot of money on the neighbourhood watch warden service, which cares for our older and more vulnerable people.

"In Stroud we have a wealth of attractions to offer and we don't really sell ourselves properly, externally or internally.

"We need to have a very professional and competitive approach to marketing. We don't have anyone in the council with that sort of expertise at that level, so we need to invest in it."