Smaller councils have hit out at the Isle of Wight Council for ‘forcing’ them to raise precepts to pay for services the bigger brother can no longer provide.
Through the Isle of Wight Association of Local Councils (IWALC) town, parish and community councils have expressed concerns about the ‘increasing financial burden’ being placed on them.
An IWALC spokesperson said the smaller councils are being put in a difficult position, in that if they want services to continue they have to pay for them. The Isle of Wight Council has said it is unable to respond to comments at the moment due to pre-election restrictions.
A spokesperson said they will liaise with the local councils and IWALC about the issues they are facing but not until after the May elections.
As part of the Isle of Wight Council’s budget for the year ahead, it cut the funding passed on to smaller authorities by £31,000. Funding for the Isle of Wight Council has been strained for many years and now with the impact of Covid-19 and funding schemes, like the fair funding review, being delayed, funds are being stretched further.
Town, parish and community councils have stepped up to take on things such as public toilets and libraries while contributing to the ongoing costs of others.
An IWALC spokesperson said the trend was now escalating, however, with local councils required to contribute more in the coming months to even more services. As a result of the bigger bills, many of the small councils have been ‘forced’ to increase their precepts, with taxpayers paying even more money. In some areas, local council tax precepts have risen by as much as £12 a year.
The spokesperson also said it was not just the finance issues that have upset its members, but the way in which it is being done. They said:
“Members maintain the Isle of Wight Council does not consult with them adequately before making such demands and gives them little or no control over the assets and services to which they contribute.”
With all the support the councils have provided to the bigger authority during the Covid pandemic, setting up hubs and support groups, members also consider the timing unfair. The spokesperson said:
“The Isle of Wight Council acknowledges it could not have provided such support without the help – but then rewards the councils by imposing further burdens.”
IWALC is calling on the Isle of Wight Council to recognise the support it needs from the town, parish and community councils and treat them as equal partners.
no one is “forced” to demand that residents pay more, irrespective of their ability to pay.
cut the services, if you haven’t got the cash or alternatively – take a pay cut, remove some of the pointless things you fund and stop wading through the money you all get for no effort whatsoever, like a hot knife through butter
Parish councils are a waste of money. They are generally comprised of a certain type of individual (busy bodies) with the occasional token councillor thrown into the mix. They like to meddle and make bad decisions, of which they have very little power to actually authorise or see through.
So why don’t you stand yourself in your local parish council? Then you could have your say instead of sitting back complaining but not doing anything to help.
Because I simply don’t believe in their effectiveness.
How can, for instance, you be a Parish Councillor who presides over local planning issues but also be on the Council’s Planning Committee? Impartial?
So, through the back door, the council is in fact increasing the tax by more than the permitted 4.99%. Step forward a lawyer. Is there a legal case against the council for increase above the permitted amount AND deception?
They claimed that council tax was increasing by 4.99% this year but when I received my bill it said the increase was 5.2%. Can I have the 0.21% back please.
What is the matter with the council. Now we have a multitude of smaller contracts to clean public loos rather than a cheaper all Island one. This is the council’s way of “saving” money.
More abdication by the IOW (County) Council. If central Government are not handing down sufficient funding, don’t just pass it down and try and squeeze more out people, just resign and tell the government to run it themselves.
Quite simple, disband the parish councils and hand it all back to the county council.
Simple, don’t accept the buck and shut the services passing the buck back the main council.
Saving the population more stealth taxes.
Supermarket shrinkflation – decrease size of product but not the price.
Council shrinkflation goes one better – decrease services but put price up as well.
“The Isle of Wight Council has said it is unable to respond to comments at the moment due to pre-election restrictions.” Well, ain’t that handy?
This administration knows it has no clout with Tory central government, being a blue certainty come General Elections. The honourable thing is to resign en masse citing the real reasons (not that Tories are famous for being honourable, at least not in recent decades). Unfortunately, that would merely result in power being handed to Bozo, Slithey Gove, Reet-Smug et al, as Liverpool is about to experience.
What a load of rubbish. I hope there is some sort of investigation into this corrupt, dishonest, insular, deceptive, self patronising, uncaring council. Also it should be looked into who they are offering building developments too, and who is on the payroll too, just saying….
Just vote in anyone OTHER than the current lot we have. They are sly, devious and push costs onto parish and town councils, so ‘they’ don’t look like the bad guys, BUT THEY ARE