AVDC keeps Council Tax proposed increase low despite pressure on budget

Council on target for low tax increases
A council tax rise well below inflation is being put forward by Aylesbury Vale District Council in its draft budget proposals for next year.
Cabinet members met on 2 December to agree a provisional budget which proposes to reduce the increase in the district council’s tax charge from four per cent this year to two per cent for 2009/10, well below the current rate of inflation.
The proposed rise of two per cent in the district’s council tax charge is an increase of £2.53 per year for an average Band D property, or some five pence per week.
This will take the district’s share of council tax for a Band D property to £128.57 per year. AVDC’s share of the bill is added to by the county council, parish and town councils and the police and fire authorities.
A two per cent council tax increase is being proposed despite another low government grant increase. It was announced this week that the council would receive an increase of just 1.1 per cent.
AVDC has identified a potential £1.7 million in efficiency savings for the next financial year, minimising wherever possible any impact on front-line services. Substantial savings will be made on salaries through a series of restructuring plans, retirements and not filling existing vacant posts.
This year’s budget process has been made even more difficult by the global credit crunch, which has created a £482,000 shortfall in expected revenue income. Two income sources hardest hit are fees for land searches and planning application fees.