KCC expected to back council tax freeze
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by political editor Paul
Francis
Kent County Council is set to
vote on a budget today that will see £97m of savings and the
shedding of a further 460 jobs.
County councillors are expected to
back a freeze on the council tax which will see bills pegged at the
same level as last year.
The government has provided KCC with a
£12m grant to absorb the impact of a freeze, but it is one-off
money.
There will also be a modest 1% pay
rise for staff and a new £12m initiative to help people get a foot
on the housing ladder by helping with mortages.
The scheme is likely to be run in conjunction with local
district and borough councils.
The council’s ruling Conservative
administration, which set out its £2.2bn spending package at the
end of last year, will say the budget will spare key services for
the county’s most vulnerable residents from the
axe.
However, less money will be spent in
some areas and the authority is cushioning the blow by taking £6m
out of its reserves.
The budget will also pave the way for
a shake-up in the youth service and a re-organisation of
libraries.
Some charges for services will
increase and the council says it aims to raise £13m through its
trading activities and extra government grants.
KCC is facing unprecedented pressure
on its finances as it deals with a 28% cut in government grants
over four years.
At the same time, it is coping with
rising demand for some services, notably in social care for the
elderly where it is having to find an extra £12m.
It has also had to find £22m to help
turn around services for vulnerable children, which were heavily
criticised by Ofsted in 2010 but are steadily improving.
Opposition Labour councillors are
expected to propose a 2.5% increase in the council tax, saying that
would avoid some of the cuts being planned.
Our politcal editor Paul Francis
will be tweeting from the budget meeting today.
Follow him by clicking the button
above - and use the hashtag #kccbudget button below to join the
debate on Twitter.
Wednesday, February 08 2012
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