South Gloucestershire residents could see their council tax bills frozen for a second year running.
At its next meeting, the Council’s Conservative Cabinet plans to ask residents for their views on a second council tax freeze as part of a consultation on next year’s council budget.
Council tax rises have fallen steadily since the Conservatives started running South Gloucestershire Council as a minority administration in 2007 and bills were frozen this year.
In contrast, council tax rose by over 12 per cent in just one year under the Lib Dems.
Cllr John Calway (Con, Longwell Green), the authority’s Conservative Leader, said:
“These are tough times for local households with the cost of living continuing to increase.”
“It’s right that the council does its bit to ease the pain where it can and so we’re asking residents if they would back another freeze in their council tax bills.”
He added:
“Here in South Gloucestershire, we are rising to the challenge that all councils have been set as we start to pay off Labour’s debt.”
“And so we’re proposing to continue with our successful strategy of eliminating what remains of the waste, inefficiency and duplication in the system and changing the way we work in order to continue to protect and improve the services that our fellow residents want.”
“I have always been very clear that there is no such thing as the council’s money – it’s residents’ money and, more than ever, they are counting on us to spend it wisely.”
“That’s why, for instance, we have been bearing down on council management costs, including deleting a director’s post saving £175k alone.”
“If opposition parties don’t like our approach then they need to put forward a fully-costed alternative. So far, I haven’t seen one.”
The next meeting of the Council’s Cabinet takes place on Monday 7th November 2011.
Source: Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council
