Council Tax Leaflet 2003/2004

Dear Resident,

Your Council Tax pays for the day-to-day services provided by the Borough, such as:

• street cleaning
• rubbish collection
• parks and open spaces
• leisure facilities
• local planning
• licensing
• grants to voluntary and community organisations

We will continue to spend on community priorities, which this year will see a greater focus on the young, the elderly and the disadvantaged.

Our services to the community come from four main sources of income:

• your council tax
• government grants
• income from our property
• the interest we earn on our investments

Because the interest we have been earning on our investments has been falling, in line with interest rates generally, we have decided to make a small 2.5% increase in the Borough's share of council tax this year to safeguard your services. This is slightly less than the rate of inflation and amounts to an increase of just over 4 pence a week for a Band D council tax payer, or £2.14 for the whole year. This is also the first increase the Borough has made in its share of council tax for four years.

This means that someone living in an unparished Band D property will pay £87.65, just over £1.68 a week.

Our key priorities for the coming year are:

• improved access to transport
• better access to learning, skills and information
• greater welfare support to help vulnerable families and individuals
• increased access to affordable housing and leisure, as well as encouraging healthy lifestyles
• promoting citizenship, which recognises diversity and leads to greater responsibility, respect and dignity for communities, families and individuals

If you wish to find out in more detail how your money is spent, please download the document, above.

All homes within the Borough are placed within eight broad valuation groupings, which initially determine the level of Council Tax each household will pay. These valuation bands, and the specific properties that fall within them, are decided by the Government Valuation Office Agency. They are based on the price that the property would have acheived if it had been sold on 1 April 1991.
        
The following shows the proportion of Council Tax other bands pay compared to Band D

The Borough Council Tax has increased by 2.5% from £85.51 to £87.65 per annum for Band D properties, an increase of £2.14

The changes in the Budget Requirement from 2002/03 are as follows: