Stockton residents face council tax rise (From The Northern Echo)

Stockton residents face council tax rise

3:50pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Stockton News

RESIDENTS in Stockton are likely to face a 3.49 per cent council tax increase from April.

Stockton Borough Council is the last local authority on Teesside to declare how much it wants to charge householders over the next financial year.

Both Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils have already proposed similar tax increases.

The authority is controlled by Labour and the Ingleby Barwick Independents, who face strong opposition from the Conservatives, who argue it is possible to freeze the council tax.

So far, Hartlepool Borough Council is the only local authority in the area which intends to accept a Government offer of extra funding in return for not increasing council tax.

But Councillor Bob Cook, leader of Stockton Borough Council, said that taking up the Government offer would store up trouble as it would necessitate a massive increase next year to make up the shortfall.

He accepted the £75.6m budget proposals - to be considered by the full council at Stockton Town Hall at 7pm next Wednesday - would leave a £1.9m surplus this coming financial year and up to £3.9m the next.

But he, along with council chief executive Neil Schneider, argued that any surplus would help to cushion any future financial shocks if the Government again demanded more spending reductions.

The current plan would still leave the authority with a likely £11m shortfall from 2015 and, if there were no "emergencies", that would be used to help reduce the funding gap.

Coun Cook said that such an example was a recent £600,000 council investment which triggered £6m of private sector funding to reduce fuel poverty.

Further job cuts in coming years have not been ruled out, despite the authority already shedding 600 posts.

"To accept it (the Government offer) would be great for one year, but we would then be left with a huge shortfall because it's a oneoff, " added Coun Cook.

"So instead of having to cut back £11m in jobs, services and facilities by 2016, we would be looking at £14m or face a massive council tax increase then."

Councillor Ken Lupton, leader of the Conservative group, said: "The Labour group is clearly not listening to the electorate."

The proposed increase would mean a monthly council tax increase of £2.20 for Band A properties, which make up more than 40 per cent of homes in the borough of Stockton.