Solve budget gap by council tax rise, say Labour (From Worcester News)

Solve budget gap by council tax rise, say Labour

1:34pm Sunday 10th February 2013 in News By Tom Edwards

Councillor Simon Geraghty, city council leader

HIKING up council tax almost two per cent in Worcester would bring in £391,000 over the next five years and ease pressure on city council finances.

That’s the view of the authority’s Labour group, which has made a last-ditch attempt to get a planned freeze re-thought.

The Conservative leadership at the Guildhall want rates frozen to help hard-pressed households.

But Councillor Richard Boorn, Labour’s finance spokesman, said a rise would help protect services at future risk of the axe.

The authority has a budget shortfall of £250,000 in 2014-15 but a 1.99 per cent council tax increase would bring in around £391,000 by 2017/18.

Speaking during a meeting of the performance management and budget scrutiny committee, he said: “If we went down this road we would have covered the shortfall and would not have to look at cutting services.”

If it went up by that amount the average householder in a Band D property would pay just £3.23 a year more in April, because the city council only controls 11 per cent of the bill.

The Tory leadership is still backing a freeze, saying it is what “the majority of people in Worcester want.”

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, says it would send out the wrong message to go cap-in-hand to the public to ask for more money.

The ruling Conservative cabinet will be discussing the 2013/14 budget in a meeting on Tuesday.

It will be finalised later this month following a vote at full council.

Comments(24)

ofvoice says...
3:39pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Instead of increasing the council tax,
why not reduce allowances of the councillors??? or even the number of them, I have had my wages cut by 5.5% in the last two years and cannot get help with housing or council tax, where am I supposed to find extra? so why cant others take a cut!!

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bmoc55 says...
4:09pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Well this says it all!!

The Labour Group still have the Keynsian mind fix of spend spend spend. When in a fix throw more money and pray that will solve the matter.

They seem to have forgotten that it was the Labour government who left us in this financial mess in the first place.

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Karl Hunderson says...
5:37pm Sun 10 Feb 13

bmoc55 wrote:
Well this says it all!!

The Labour Group still have the Keynsian mind fix of spend spend spend. When in a fix throw more money and pray that will solve the matter.

They seem to have forgotten that it was the Labour government who left us in this financial mess in the first place.

Oh dear someone else regurgitating the Tory lie about "its all Labour's fault." It's as if the global financial crisis never happened. Whilst other countries are recovering from the actions of the banks Britain's debt is increasing whilst austerity measures hit the most vulnerable and the rich get tax breaks.

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Doogie 46 says...
6:43pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Labour were overspent before the banking crisis and when it struck they had absolutely nothing in reserve. Had not much of what they spent been wasted they might not have left such a mess.
Those countries which are recovering (and there are very few of them) were not in as bad a situation as we were.
Labour have form - the pound was devalued by Wilson in the 1960`s and the IMF put the brakes on Healy in return for loans in the 1970`s.
The banking problems were in part down to Labour - in his hunger for money to spend from the taxes on bank profits Brown relaxed controls to a suicidal degree.
Nobody would deny the banks were incredibly badly run (how many bank bosses were knighted by Labour?) and still are, but it is most certainly NOT a lie that Labour left a massive mess.
And if Labour return to power in 2015 we will really find out how bad things can get under Milliband, Balls and Mckluskey (the 1970`s will seem like Utopia by comparison)

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darren3o says...
6:54pm Sun 10 Feb 13

we see why labour will not get back into power,

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DarrenM says...
7:09pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Tax and spend - isn't this the same guy that also wanted to increase council tax to fund the new swimming pool recently?

Is one to assume the labour party manifesto is just to keep raising taxes?

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Guy66 says...
7:43pm Sun 10 Feb 13

Karl Hunderson wrote:

bmoc55 wrote:
Well this says it all!!

The Labour Group still have the Keynsian mind fix of spend spend spend. When in a fix throw more money and pray that will solve the matter.

They seem to have forgotten that it was the Labour government who left us in this financial mess in the first place.
Oh dear someone else regurgitating the Tory lie about "its all Labour's fault." It's as if the global financial crisis never happened. Whilst other countries are recovering from the actions of the banks Britain's debt is increasing whilst austerity measures hit the most vulnerable and the rich get tax breaks.

You seem to have forgotten that throughout the majority of the term (13 years) Labour were in government the top tax rate was 40%. It was only in 2010 (to take effect 2011) that the 50% tax rate was introduced. So by lowering the 50% to 45% the Conservatives have raised the overall take from people earning over £150,000 by 5% more than the WHOLE term Labour were in Power. So please tell us which party favored the Rich - Labour taxing them at 40% or the Conservatives taxing them at 45%?

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Jabbadad says...
10:09pm Sun 10 Feb 13

I would like to reply to the original story. It is fair to say that while the Tories are in power Nationally or Locally their one theme while making huge cuts to services has been to freeze council tax. However the main benefactors were not the poor, but surprise surprise the rich who were of course quite rightly paying much higher Council Tax on their much larger Houses and second and even third homes. So this Tory gesture is not aimed at the poor, but looking after their own ilk.
As someone who is on a very restricted income and a full council tax payer I would be quite happy to pay a further £3.23 per year if it helped to keep some of the services which are too many to list here, but are being cut by the Tories under their slash & Burn policies.
And weekly I attend County hall and see the huge gaps that will appear in staffing when all those people are sacked and more Council services are Commissioned out to private firms.
And I also totally agree with previous comments, that I have yet to hear any Councillor suggest that their over inflated Attendance and expense allowances should be cut, especially when you see the amounts that people like Geraghty on over £45,000 per year and many on over £20,000 for what used to be a public service , not as now a very well paid second job.
And while not defending the previous Labour Government, well after all the mess who could, but there was also a world crisis going on at the same time. So while it suits the Tories to blame everything on the previous government. they aren't making a very good job of things at the moment, and when the dust settle we will see how they have decimated public services ready for Tory Privatisation. Just as their juggling about with the NHS will prove to again be ready for privatising the profitable parts and leaving the rubbish for the state, just like the Royal Mail being cherry Picked of any profitable parts by outside businesses leaving the non-profitable parts for Royal Mail.

I would like to reply to the original story. It is fair to say that while the Tories are in power Nationally or Locally their one theme while making huge cuts to services has been to freeze council tax. However the main benefactors were not the poor, but surprise surprise the rich who were of course quite rightly paying much higher Council Tax on their much larger Houses and second and even third homes. So this Tory gesture is not aimed at the poor, but looking after their own ilk. As someone who is on a very restricted income and a full council tax payer I would be quite happy to pay a further £3.23 per year if it helped to keep some of the services which are too many to list here, but are being cut by the Tories under their slash & Burn policies. And weekly I attend County hall and see the huge gaps that will appear in staffing when all those people are sacked and more Council services are Commissioned out to private firms. And I also totally agree with previous comments, that I have yet to hear any Councillor suggest that their over inflated Attendance and expense allowances should be cut, especially when you see the amounts that people like Geraghty on over £45,000 per year and many on over £20,000 for what used to be a public service , not as now a very well paid second job. And while not defending the previous Labour Government, well after all the mess who could, but there was also a world crisis going on at the same time. So while it suits the Tories to blame everything on the previous government. they aren't making a very good job of things at the moment, and when the dust settle we will see how they have decimated public services ready for Tory Privatisation. Just as their juggling about with the NHS will prove to again be ready for privatising the profitable parts and leaving the rubbish for the state, just like the Royal Mail being cherry Picked of any profitable parts by outside businesses leaving the non-profitable parts for Royal Mail. Jabbadad

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Landy44 says...
8:27am Mon 11 Feb 13

REALLY? The Labour Councillors are clearly fools! That kind of thinking is what got us into this mess in the first place.

Point of detail - It's absolutely not appropraite to come "cap in hand" to the public again, but that isn't what government does (local and/or central).

A proportion of tax is a justified legitimate contribution to fund ESSENTIAL shared services. BUT....tax in this and many other countries has gotten out of hand and is basically legalised theft to enable the government of the day to spend money on a whim on whatever they deem, rather than what is necessary for the tax payer.

Let's be clear. Higher taxes are NOT only inappropriate, but they are not moral. Go back and make some cuts (I haven't seen anything significant yet, in fact I've just seen more promises to spend on more unnecessary things). If you can't do it, stop playing with our childrens futures, stand down and let someone else try.

This is not the time for party politics - it's the time for pulling together, understanding this country's problems (they clearly don't) and doing something positive to fix them.

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Jabbadad says...
10:55am Mon 11 Feb 13

You will find that Historically Council Tax, or whatever they have tried to call it in the past, has always been annually assessed to keep in step with inflation. Since of course the Councils Budgets have to be run in a business like manner as possible. And it's only when the politics click in that we have the regular posturing, mostly by the Tories. It's as if it's their election "Swan Song".
I had many a conversation with a previous City Council Treasurer, who if allowed could have made a far better job of the accounts than any of the politicians. But he was for ever having to chase the pipe dreams that Councillors came up with, just to win votes or please business cronies.
One of the most contentious being Bus passes. From the happy days when the holders paid a fixed sum for the actual Bus pass, and had subsidised fares, to more ridiculously complicated ones piloted by Simon Geraghty to having bus route Zones, whereby you paid a fixed sum to e.g to the Bull Ring St Johns, but with a return ticket you could only get on a bus at the same zone corresponding bus stop (not one closer to town) to go back into town.
The main problem with any scheme then was that there was no actual way of verifying the huge sums that the bus companies claimed for Bus Pass travel. When eventually Bus Passes that could be scanned were introduced, some of the scanning machines installed on the buses would not read the Passes. So we were back to a mean average method of payment. And we are talking about several Hundred Thousand Pounds. YOU COULD'T MAKE IT UP COULD YOU?
During frequent discussion groups as to how the Tory administration could possibly make the scheme almost self funding,Gordon Brown threw a giant spanner in the works by giving Free Bus Passes. Which of course is recognised by many as unaffordable, and also not the wishes of many older people. Older People DON'T WANT EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING, in fact Older People are very generous within their limited incomes.
However what we must not lose sight of is that Free or Subsidised Bus travel also encourages people to leave their cars (if they own one) at home. With the high number of Bus passes issued ( well over 8,000 I hear) just think how the City roads / Carparks would cope if they all started to enter the City?

You will find that Historically Council Tax, or whatever they have tried to call it in the past, has always been annually assessed to keep in step with inflation. Since of course the Councils Budgets have to be run in a business like manner as possible. And it's only when the politics click in that we have the regular posturing, mostly by the Tories. It's as if it's their election "Swan Song". I had many a conversation with a previous City Council Treasurer, who if allowed could have made a far better job of the accounts than any of the politicians. But he was for ever having to chase the pipe dreams that Councillors came up with, just to win votes or please business cronies. One of the most contentious being Bus passes. From the happy days when the holders paid a fixed sum for the actual Bus pass, and had subsidised fares, to more ridiculously complicated ones piloted by Simon Geraghty to having bus route Zones, whereby you paid a fixed sum to e.g to the Bull Ring St Johns, but with a return ticket you could only get on a bus at the same zone corresponding bus stop (not one closer to town) to go back into town. The main problem with any scheme then was that there was no actual way of verifying the huge sums that the bus companies claimed for Bus Pass travel. When eventually Bus Passes that could be scanned were introduced, some of the scanning machines installed on the buses would not read the Passes. So we were back to a mean average method of payment. And we are talking about several Hundred Thousand Pounds. YOU COULD'T MAKE IT UP COULD YOU? During frequent discussion groups as to how the Tory administration could possibly make the scheme almost self funding,Gordon Brown threw a giant spanner in the works by giving Free Bus Passes. Which of course is recognised by many as unaffordable, and also not the wishes of many older people. Older People DON'T WANT EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING, in fact Older People are very generous within their limited incomes. However what we must not lose sight of is that Free or Subsidised Bus travel also encourages people to leave their cars (if they own one) at home. With the high number of Bus passes issued ( well over 8,000 I hear) just think how the City roads / Carparks would cope if they all started to enter the City? Jabbadad

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gmoore1207 says...
11:32am Mon 11 Feb 13

i have not had a pay rise in four years i work part time and my hours been cut down where do we find extra money mr geraghty

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worcwisdom says...
2:23pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Well said Jabbadad:
"As someone who is on a very restricted income and a full council tax payer I would be quite happy to pay a further £3.23 per year if it helped to keep some of the services which are too many to list her"

Totally agree with this comment, my husband has just been made redundant but rather than cut services I am MORE than happy to spend a few pounds extra a year.

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worcwisdom says...
2:25pm Mon 11 Feb 13

Dare I say if people bought one less magazine / pint of beer / packet of cigarettes / walk to the shops instead of drive / train / coach etc a year they'd have the money to pay the extra on their council tax bill

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vexedofworcester says...
11:06am Tue 12 Feb 13

It may sound crazy but an alternative would be assessing how many County and City Council positions are needed and terminating those that are not essential. Both councils have many dedicated, underpaid hard working staff, but both also have staffs that are not. There are a lot of unnecessary overpaid roles. Cut these and then look at the pay levels of the staff we really do need. For example, why is that many positions relocated to the Hive received a pay increase when they are doing the same as they did in their previous locations? When financial troubles cause schools to cut back on Teaching Assistants and the roads are full of potholes it is not the time to be increasing the pay of luxury positions.

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Windy Miller says...
6:18pm Wed 13 Feb 13

The history of socialism is one of economic failure. Spend spend without thought for the future damage.
When will these Red Flag waving
Trotskyes learn the world doesn't owe them anything.

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The Doosra says...
7:34am Thu 14 Feb 13

So, a 2% rise in Council Tax will bring in an extra £391,000 over the next five years? That's next to b----r all in the context of the Council's total spend. What a pointless exercise.

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pronstar says...
9:40am Thu 14 Feb 13

Windy Miller wrote:
The history of socialism is one of economic failure. Spend spend without thought for the future damage.
When will these Red Flag waving
Trotskyes learn the world doesn't owe them anything.

Windy Miller wrote: When will these Red Flag waving Trotskyes learn the world doesn't owe them anything

Little bit dramatic there Windy. Slightly left of centre hardly equates to Trotskyism does it?

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MJI says...
1:18pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Guy66 wrote:

Karl Hunderson wrote:

bmoc55 wrote:
Well this says it all!!

The Labour Group still have the Keynsian mind fix of spend spend spend. When in a fix throw more money and pray that will solve the matter.

They seem to have forgotten that it was the Labour government who left us in this financial mess in the first place.
Oh dear someone else regurgitating the Tory lie about "its all Labour's fault." It's as if the global financial crisis never happened. Whilst other countries are recovering from the actions of the banks Britain's debt is increasing whilst austerity measures hit the most vulnerable and the rich get tax breaks.
You seem to have forgotten that throughout the majority of the term (13 years) Labour were in government the top tax rate was 40%. It was only in 2010 (to take effect 2011) that the 50% tax rate was introduced. So by lowering the 50% to 45% the Conservatives have raised the overall take from people earning over £150,000 by 5% more than the WHOLE term Labour were in Power. So please tell us which party favored the Rich - Labour taxing them at 40% or the Conservatives taxing them at 45%?

That was done in the last Labour budget and was not cancelled.

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MJI says...
1:20pm Thu 14 Feb 13

worcwisdom wrote:
Dare I say if people bought one less magazine / pint of beer / packet of cigarettes / walk to the shops instead of drive / train / coach etc a year they'd have the money to pay the extra on their council tax bill

So what happens to the non smokers, who have already dropped all of the magazines/beers ect due to other rises?
.
Didn't think of that did you?

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MJI says...
1:21pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Why is it all they want to do is tax us MORE?
.
We are already being forced to spend more due to taxes and price rises, where are the corresponding wage rises?

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Windy Miller says...
6:21pm Thu 14 Feb 13

pronstar wrote:

Windy Miller wrote:
The history of socialism is one of economic failure. Spend spend without thought for the future damage.
When will these Red Flag waving
Trotskyes learn the world doesn't owe them anything.
Windy Miller wrote: When will these Red Flag waving Trotskyes learn the world doesn't owe them anything

Little bit dramatic there Windy. Slightly left of centre hardly equates to Trotskyism does it?

Whats slightly left of centre about destroying the Nations economy time and again since the war?

Report this post »

Guy66 says...
11:26am Sat 16 Feb 13

MJI wrote:

Guy66 wrote:

Karl Hunderson wrote:

bmoc55 wrote:
Well this says it all!!

The Labour Group still have the Keynsian mind fix of spend spend spend. When in a fix throw more money and pray that will solve the matter.

They seem to have forgotten that it was the Labour government who left us in this financial mess in the first place.
Oh dear someone else regurgitating the Tory lie about "its all Labour's fault." It's as if the global financial crisis never happened. Whilst other countries are recovering from the actions of the banks Britain's debt is increasing whilst austerity measures hit the most vulnerable and the rich get tax breaks.
You seem to have forgotten that throughout the majority of the term (13 years) Labour were in government the top tax rate was 40%. It was only in 2010 (to take effect 2011) that the 50% tax rate was introduced. So by lowering the 50% to 45% the Conservatives have raised the overall take from people earning over £150,000 by 5% more than the WHOLE term Labour were in Power. So please tell us which party favored the Rich - Labour taxing them at 40% or the Conservatives taxing them at 45%?
That was done in the last Labour budget and was not cancelled.

Did I mention cancelled at all. Yes last 'LAST' budget. Now comment on the fact that labour allowed the 40% rate to run throughout their parties rule and now have the blind faced cheek to say 45% is giving millionaires a tax break!

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Trisha54 says...
12:26pm Sun 17 Feb 13

I don't drink. I don't smoke, I walk to work, I have had my hours cut forcing me to take another part time job on minimum wage to try and make ends meet, how the hell can I afford a hike in council tax.?
Just out of interest does it really need three people to change a light bulb as far from cutting services if they cut the obvious waste in rescources by sending out one person to do a job instead of three and cutting out the paid non jobs they seem to have accumulated over the last God knows how long the black hole might be greatly reduced and on another note has anyone noticed how we seem to be breeding street cleaners and litter pickers, I have never known the city and surrounding areas to have ever had so many

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Landy44 says...
1:47pm Sun 17 Feb 13

While a lot of the people on this thread are making Tory v Labour arguments, does it occur to anyone that, doing so divides public opinion, which actually stops anyone getting to the root cause of the matter?

That is, continually putting up tax (whoever pays and whoever the part responsible is) is not a moral fair approach when the people who manage and spend the public money are not responsible with the allocation of funds. Their continued vanity projects and whimsical ideas, even if they genuinely intend to "help", rarely do, and in the current climate only seek to make matters worse.

We need some proper, competent, responsible government (locally and nationally) that is not afraid to be bold in order to save this country.

Unfortunately, I don't see anyone in politics who fulfils those credentials!

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Solve budget gap by council tax rise, say Labour (From Worcester News)

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