The Isle of Wight Council has set its budget following a meeting of the Full Council last night (Wednesday), where an increase to the Isle of Wight Council’s element of the annual council tax bills of 3.99% was agreed.
The increase of 3.99% – the maximum amount that the council is permitted to raise its council tax element by without holding a referendum – excludes the precepts for town and parish councils and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire. The increase in Council tax will raise an additional £1.3 million for the Isle of Wight Council, however, the increased costs to the council for the same period are considerably in excess of this.
It means the Isle of Wight Council element of council tax for a band D property will increase to £1395.17 a year, an increase of £53.53 per year, or around £1.03 per week. Council tax contributes around 23% of the council’s overall funding.
Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Councillor Jonathan Bacon, said:
“This is the most difficult budget this Council has had to address and deal with for many years, certainly for longer than I have been in the Chamber.
“Following the announcement of the draft local government financial settlement in December, extensive representations and lobbying have taken place, and an extremely strong case has been put forward for additional resources. It is, therefore, bitterly disappointing that in the final settlement announced only two weeks ago the Island was offered not a penny more.
“The budget set was agreed on the basis that it is constructed to do the best possible in the circumstances, to save what we can while making the books balance, but also to provide us with time and sufficient security to enter into a process which, in a nutshell will decide whether this council stands or falls. We have considered the options very carefully to maintain what we can and minimise the pain to Island residents, while considering the impact on future of where we live.
“This year has proved really challenging and on the experience of this budget I would reiterate my belief that without significant government intervention it will be impossible for the council to set a budget in 2017 and to exist after that date.”
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Full details of the budget and council tax proposals, which were adopted by Full Council, can be found at www.iwight.com/meetings.
The council has been required to issue a formal consultation notice in relation to potential job losses among its staff, as part of the savings proposals. Over the next few years the council is being pushed towards a far more streamlined staffing structure in order to meet the increasing pressure on budgets due to government reductions in funding.
The council awaits further details about a funding review by the government, which recognises its unique position as an Island, with increasing financial pressures due to high numbers of older residents, and the impact on its economic development potential due to being detached from the mainland.
Speaking after last night’s meeting, Cllr Chris Whitehouse (Conservative, Newport West) said:
“I did not vote in favour of the so-called ‘Independent’ Group’s proposed Budget because I remain completely unconvinced about their claimed need to slash services. The Leader of the Council espoused a truly myopic view that we either continue to provide services as at present, or cut them. That’s just intellectually sloppy. The real challenge is to reform the way in which services are provided, to involve ever more greatly the not-for-profit sector and businesses to find innovative ways in which we deliver both service improvements and reductions in the costs. The current Administration is failing to explore such opportunities and focusing instead on cheap, petty, political point-scoring, to the long term detriment of Island residents and businesses.
“For the record, on the final vote, I did not support an unwelcome increase in council tax of 4%. Why should hard pressed Island families shoulder the burden? The ‘Independent’ Councillors are failing in their duty to re-design the way the Council operates. We should be putting the needs of the service users first, not the financial allowances and political prejudices of the controlling ‘Independent’ councilors. We need to work harder and smarter, we simply don’t need to slash services.”
