The Echo reports today that Rochford District Council has only received a 2.2 percent increase in government grant for next year and that the County Council is also only getting 2.2 percent.
Rochford District Council is also angry at the amount of extra funding it has received, which is only 2.2 per cent each year.
This means it has gone from a grant of ?4.76million to ?4.86million. Deputy leader Keith Hudson said as a low-cost authority, the announcement would cause problems for local people. He added: “I predict we will have real difficulty in keeping council tax down, particularly when other cost pressures, such as the Government’s national concessionary fares scheme, have yet to be finalised.”
This is actually unlikely to make any difference to how much the District Council charges in council tax – there was likely to be a 5 percent increase anyway, and the government won’t let the council increase it by more than that.
But it does look like councillors are going to have to make some tough choices. Cut spending in some areas? Increase charges for some things?