A 5% council tax increase has been approved, which means Isle of Wight council taxpayers will see bills rise by an average of £90 per year. It means a Band D taxpayer will now pay £1,908.39 in the 12 months from April, to fund services provided by the Isle of Wight Council. The authority will start the 2024/25 financial year with a structural deficit of £1.2 million – for which it will use its savings. An amendment by Conservative councillors and those who are members of the Empowering Islanders group won support — with 30 votes in favour, 8 against (Liberal Democrat councillors, and councillors Price, Love, Brodie and Quigley) and one abstention (chair, Councillor Critchison). It means the Alliance Administration must carry out the plans set out by its opposition. All but two members of the Alliance Administration agreed to carry out the amended budget put forward by opposition councillors. Cllr Jonathan Bacon said after the meeting the administration “does not have to do something just because it is in the budget”. Those plans include several feasibility studies, the potential to borrow millions of pounds to provide solar panels over car parks, affordable pre-fabricated homes and the creation of accommodation for looked-after children and young people with extra and extensive needs, so they do not have to be sent to the mainland. It also includes a comprehensive investigation into the Military Road and future options for maintaining it. Council leader and head of the Alliance Group, Councillor Phil Jordan, insisted this is already being done. He called the Conservative and Empowering Islanders scheme ‘guesswork’ and said feasibility studies would be more expensive. Conservative Councillor Matt Price broke ranks with his fellow councillors, and voted against the budget led by his own group. Also voted in are:
- Frozen parking charges for the first time in 13 years – apart from an increase to visitor parking permits
- An additional £11.3 million towards adults and children’s social care
- Increased fees for cremations and marriages
- £400,000 for highway drainage schemes to reduce flooding
- £30,000 to resurface the car park at County Hall
- £86,000 to provide Coroner’s Court facilities at Seaclose Park
- A restructure of the libraries and heritage services
- The authority will also have to find £2.75 million in savings.
Amendments from Councillors Richard Quigley and Geoff Brodie and the Liberal Democrats were dismissed, because they did not secure enough votes. Their plans had included delivering more affordable housing by asking the Council Leaders to sell £1 million in assets, as well as increasing the community capacity and resilience fund to £500,000, using the money to address poverty, mental health services; and to provide peer support for women moving on after trauma. Meanwhile, tonight’s budget sees the level of council tax support for Islanders on the lowest income rise to a 75% discount. A decision was also made to reinstate the exceptional hardship fund, which councillors voted to remove in January. The £50,000 fund provides extra support to the most vulnerable Islanders, by paying more of their council tax bill. The budget has been set with an additional £3 million from government, to cover the costs that come with providing services on the Island. The authority estimates those costs now stand at £23 million. Councillpr Jordan warned it has not been confirmed if that uplift will be made available again.
Fantastic! I’m looking forward to paying that!
Nice to see County hall has a ‘care’ park, they deserve it 🙂
While everyone else has to dodge the potholes elsewhere.
Does the care park need resurfacing? How does that benefit IW residents. better to spend the money resurfacing alpine and zig zag road in Ventnor before a cyclist gets killed.
Why even discuss it? Same thing year upon year. Pay us more, we’ll give you less and if you don’t cough up we’ll employ some shady ‘bailiffs’ to come and harrass you and if that doesn’t work we’ll jail you.
If the IWCC was a business, they’d be bankrupt and out of luck. The British public bend over year upon year, ready for the next shafting.
Given the state of the country overall and the machete style funding cuts by successive Tory governments, I think this was probably as fair as it could be. Nobody wants to pay more but if this is what it takes to maintain at least some level of care for the most needy and vulnerable then that’s ok. Regardless of your particular.political persuasion you just have to accept the decisions made by our elected bodies and vote them in or out at the next opportunity. And, if it doesn’t go your way again, try again. I personally didn’t vote for any of the current government, did vote for Critchley in County Hall and didn’t vote for Brexit. I’ll accept the results and endeavour to adjust to the changes whilst working towards changing them.
Ditto all of that, and betcha your comment ends in negative likes. Moral of the story? People get the majority outcome they choose, hence the current sh*t we’re ALL in. Thanks guys….and bring on the election.
£30,000 to resurface the car park at County Hall
It’s in better condition than the road outside my house that keeps getting patched up
Who’s resurfacing it, Rockefeller
Great – so residents have to pay extra for the Council’s mismanagement of money for no extra services. Sounds about right for the IOW Council.
An additional £11.3 million towards adults and children’s social care
really – more money for the dossers, layabouts, spongers, illegals and every other sob story going.
what planet are these so called councillors on.
Certainly not ours, that’s for sure Notice how little, if any, services will improve for those copping the bill,again. £400.00 for flooding. How far is that going to go. Open the sluice gate at Bembridge, will solve a lot of it, that can be done for free.
I think it’s more about human compassion. Sort of caring for those who can’t take care of themselves. Helping where you can. Take according to your needs and give according to your ability. It doesn’t have to be money. It could be time. It could be moral support or it could even be ‘ shut up’ and let people be instead of putting up objections or opinions.
Next time you’re out and about and a stranger steps in to help with your flat tyre, heavy shopping, runaway dog or whatever, that’ll be your reward. You don’t even need to acknowledge it. Take the help then tell them to F*** off if you want. That’s on you. Not them.
What planet are you on that you seem to have no clue whatsoever what adult and children social care is about? It is about giving care, not for supporting people on benefits. In other words, for providing care homes, disability equipment and medical equipment. Social benefits are a whole different thing altogether.
What does Adult and Children’s Social Care do please? If the money is ring-fenced for that it can’t be used elsewhere…that’s fraud.
I read earlier today that 70% of our council tax is spent providing services to a tiny number of people with special learning and disability issues. That is why our services are in decline and councils are going bankrupt. These special services need to be provided in a much more cost-effective manner so the basic services provided to the majority of the population can be improved. Those paying council tax get very little for their money. I am sick of it.
Wrong again John. Our council tax payments make up roughly 20% of the overall budget. I suppose you might just be able to say that if it were put separately in a pot, the money spent on social disablement could come to 70% of the 20%….so in effect just 14% of the total. Or, about the same as we pay of Island Roads PFI contract. How much value for money was that then? And what should we do with all the disabled/elderly etc who need, for example, hoists so they can live independently and not in a (paid for) home. Or the 6 weeks of homecare provided on release from hospital? Shall we leave them all to die in their own shit because you don’t want to pay? What a lovely man you must be.
70% of our council tax is still 70% of our total contribution you braindead numpty. Millions squandered on taxis taking children to school because they get a bit stressed on a bus. This is the sort of thing that needs to stop.
Higher council tax on us, more reduction for the spongers. There’s absolutely NO incentive to work and earn a living anymore. You get more for the less you do in todays world. Makes you wonder why should we bother?
Quit your job then Silly Milly. Honestly. It’ll be the simplest and quickest change to your current gripe. Straight on to benefits, free house, lots of cash to splash around on mobile phones and manicures. Sprogs will get free Caribbean holidays while the Foodbank delivers your weekly wine and Maccy D orders.
Truly, you should do it. Right now. Quit your job. Sell up. Start living the high life. Or do you think the reality of it all is a million miles away from your wild delusion?
You’re so right Sillymilly. Being on benefits is just so much fun!! For those unemployed, recently redundant single women whose children grew up there’s now a universal credit payment of £750 a month, capped. Shame the rent is £850 now. Looking for cheaper bedsit hovels (600) WHILST spending 35 hours a week (benefit requirement) looking for jobs that aren’t there is really energising! Going to the benefit centre twice a week (18 mile round trip, 5 hours on buses, sold the car to pay rent increase) so they can ask the same questions they asked on Tuesday…priceless! Eating bread and butter until the butter runs out…well, cups doth runneth over. How lucky are we eh?
Sarcasm is rightly known as the lowest form of wit. It rarely raises more than a titter. I can almost see you screaming at your keyboard spewing out this crap. Obviously, you are utterly convinced that only your opinion matters and you have no respect for the opinions of others. You certainly have no idea how to change the opinions of others.
Robin B’stards…….
Deficit of £1.25 million, lost through continual mismanagement. Floating bridge and the much hyped non cycle race exceeded that. Still found more money to save spongers paying council tax though.
Unlucky Dicky. You lost out in the lottery of life. You’re in the unfortunate position of being solvent I guess. Got a house, maybe a car, steady income, bit of savings? Time to put up the barricades and keep the spongers and riff raff out. It’ll be an awfully sad and miserable existence in your little Kingdom but noone will miss you or care. But maybe if your circumstances reverse you’d be only too happy to take whatever help was available and offered. Don’t be a meany Dicky Daniels. Don’t be a meany. Boo yah!
Oh we are a busy little commenter today. Nothing unfortunate about being solvent and working. I have no interest in your status. But you are clearly one of those who still wrongly blame Brexit for all our woes. Its done, dry up the whining and try to make Britain great. Just look forward to the utopia that the UK will under a Liebour, lib dums alliance.
I’m Not whining. I’ll accept the Brexit result as a fair representation of what the people wanted. Like I said previously. I don’t like it and aren’t complaining. I’m not bragging. Just stating where I am in the discussion. Working hard, getting by. No pension to fall back on and no savings. Just grateful for a roof and good company. Didn’t vote Tory, wouldn’t trust Starmer l. I’ll have to consider all angles without bias, anger or mean spiritedness. Making the best of it you know. Like in the good old days, Dunkirk spirit, stuff upper lip and all that.
Posting as Yappy pup due to IE limits.
Scum, Sub-Human Scum
Cheaper to bulldoze County Hall, most of the shirkers work from home
so why waste money on the sh*thole!
Bet they give themselves an above inflation pay raise to cover this? The workers on the ground work hard for their pay it’s the managers and councillors on stupid money making decisions that they know nothing about! Might not be a lot to them but will break hard working people, where do they think we will find this money? Because last year’s council tax rise took me to my absolute household limit and I simply can’t pay anymore do i go to my boss and say I need 5% more because the greedy useless councillors can’t run anything properly or for the people who voted them in!!!!
‘People’ voted them in. People voted the government in. We are the people. We need to accept or challenge the status quo. Unionise. Organise. Strategies. When we get what we want, others will have to do without what they want. It’s an unfair world but ‘democracy’ is the fairest way right now. I didn’t want Brexit nor vote for this government (and nobody voted for this Prime Minister) but I’ll put up with it and work to the current diktat.
You can’t complain about what other people voted for and still expect to be allowed to vote yourself. It doesn’t work like that.
I never and never will vote for this local or national bunch of useless incompetent idiots, not my vote yet have to pay for their stupidity and incompetence!
So maybe the council should stop spending £50 on a toilet seat and £100.00 for someone to fit them
They need a real buyer and someone not on a backhander to come in and sort the over spending out.
5% council tax increase at a time when everyone is suffering is diabolical liberty.
£30k to resurface the townhall carpark surely that should be on the back burner until more important things are taken care of and god help them if they get island roads to do it as it will have pot holes in a month.
In fact thinking about it I am surprised they have not gone to mainland councils again and offered to take in the dregs of society for a price just like they have done for the last 5 years bring nothing but more unemployment drug users and dealers.
Oh Islandlife, I was with you all the way until you mentioned the ‘dregs’. Tut tut. You must be aware that people higher up the social scale regard you, and me and all of the other hard working, law abiding citizens as ‘dregs’ too. The blue rinsed, cravat wearing upper crust lump us all together as one. Don’t be so mean. Boo yah!
Stick with the Yappy pup moniker. It suits you perfectly. Alternatively, try “supercilious twat”.
Thanks John..I’ll do that. I’m glad I found you.
But you lot will still vote Tory
Thank you for the increase in services that I won’t ever see
And thank you for paying for them anyways. My council tax funds elderly care, foster kids, mental health services etc. I’m not old, parents long gone, kids home educated and doing very well and thriving physically and mentally. In a safe home with both parents. I’ll take that as something to get grateful for. I’ll happily share my good fortune. I don’t know what I might need further down the line but I’ll hope it’s there to help. Be kind people. We are all that we’ve got.
5% increase is not the whole truth, once you add the likes of the precepts, God knows what Rydes will be as they seem to like to waste money on stupid unwanted schemes
How many care packages would the 30k County Hall resurfacing cost
buy? H & S element could be covered by warning notices and lighting…far cheaper than 30K resurfacing, and to protect just how many users?…… when some of our roads are such a danger to many more users, especially those on two wheels, propelled or peddled!…there are many badly installed grids, not to mention potholes.
Disgraceful!!
If the waste of time inadequate councillors vote for an increase in their expenses it will just go to show that they have absolutely no concern or thought for those of us who have to pay council tax. They work for us so let’s sack half of them for being incompetent and not employable and reduce the pay/expenses of the other half for the same reasons and see how they like it !@
How much did the revamped ‘RYDE INTERCHANGE’ finally cost the taxpayer?
So our little work payrise in effect will count as sod all as the council have already decided what they want to waste our money on yet again. No reprieve for the hard working grafters. In one hand and out the other .
Let’s see what a balls up they can do this time and then bleat how hard strapped for cash they will be
So we pay 5% more so the Council can keep sending their
G’ estapo Enforcement Officers to make our lives hell when
Parking our vehicles.
Park in the bays, pay the correct fees and stay off the yellow lines. They can’t touch you then.
Now the 5% threshold has been hit the constituents can call a referendum.
In England, councils with social care duties can raise council tax by up to 4.99%, without triggering a referendum. Others can increase it by up to 2.99%. In April, 75% of councils are expected to introduce the maximum increase, according to the County Councils Network, a local government organisation.12 Feb 2024
Who is that chap sleeping there,the one with the red flask, probably filled with beer ready to drive home