AVDC plans to freeze Council Tax in 2011/12

Aylesbury Vale District Council has set out proposals to help save the authority more than £1 million in 2011/12 and deliver a freeze on council tax.
AVDC is unlikely to know its budget settlement for 2011/12 until December but has estimated that it will be cut by up to 25 per cent over the next four years. This equates to at least £1 million per year, and has set out savings proposals based on this estimate.
The council also has to deal with other budget pressures that will increase costs, such as inflation increases in fixed-term contracts and higher business rates on its buildings.
AVDC is setting out its plans to achieve a balanced budget earlier than normal this year. This will put the council in a much better position to tackle the financial challenges which currently lie ahead and allow more time for consultation with stakeholders.
Savings of £1.2 million for 2011/12 will be achieved while protecting frontline services by doing things more efficiently. Significant savings will be made through productivity gains arising from the restructuring of some council services and changes to the structure of the council’s senior management team.
As well as the proposed savings, the council is working towards a freeze in council tax in 2011/12.
It is hoped this will be part-funded by the government, who have promised to provide extra funding if AVDC can keep its proposed council tax rise to 2.5 per cent - effectively wiping out the increase to taxpayers.
Councillor Neil Blake, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “All public services are facing hard choices on how to reduce costs and save money. We want to make sure Aylesbury Vale residents get the most efficient and effective local services, but we expect a big reduction from the government in how much we can spend over the next few years. This means looking at all the services we provide and what things are most important.
“With all the proposed savings we have endeavoured to be fair to our staff and to the people who use our services. We have tried to ensure that frontline services are protected and, wherever possible, to avoid redundancies.
“The government has said it will work with councils to freeze bills this year and we intend to take advantage of that. The council is also continuing to examine how we can transform working practises to reduce costs so that we can maintain a high standard of service to the public with fewer resources in the future and it is aiming to achieve further ongoing savings over the next few years through its business transformation programme.”