Where does your council tax go?
You pay your council tax bill to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, but the money doesn't all go to us.
Our share of the council tax is only about 8% - the equivalent of 26p per day for a band D property in the borough.
The council tax we collect for a band D property goes to:
Hampshire County Council £910.62 (77%)
Hampshire Police Authority £119.43 (10%)
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority £53.64 (5%)
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council £94.39 (8%)
How much is our share of the council tax this year?
Our share of the council tax has only increased by 2.5% to allow for inflation, for the fourth year in a row.
This means that people in Basingstoke and Deane not living in a parish will pay £94.39 council tax at band D for borough provided services. Those living in rural areas may pay an additional sum to cover the services provided by their town or parish council.
The borough council has agreed to pay a grant of up to £1,025 to each parish council. Parish councils needing more can raise the extra through council tax. If this applies to you, details of the amount your parish council requires to be raised through council tax will be shown on your bill and on the total council tax information sheet attached.
What do you get get for this money?
Our portion of the council tax goes towards providing local services to the 157,000 residents of our borough.
Everyday services we provide include rubbish collection, planning and building control, community safety, housing and housing benefits, prevention of homelessness, environmental health, car parking, leisure, sport, culture and the arts, licensing and council tax collection.
Planning to get the most for your money
We work hard to get the best possible value from your council tax.
The council has a three year plan and budget strategy that focuses our resources (money and staff) on key priority areas:
- getting value for money in all we do, providing everyday services
- giving people access to decent homes in areas that they want to live in, with a strong community spirit
- making sure the borough's streets are clean and safe for residents, businesses and visitors
- giving everyone equal opportunities to reach their full potential, by breaking down barriers to learning and training
New and improved services
Efficiency savings are being put into new and improved services. The three new initiatives for this year are:
- expanding the successful community warden scheme into new areas
- starting a new green garden waste collection and recycling service
- bringing green recycling bins to rural areas
But we will also continue to improve the high quality services that people of the borough rely on every day.
The total amount we need to spend on our services in 2006/07 is £90.6 million.
To find out in more detail how your money is spent, please download the attached leaflet in full.
