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City council budget: Opposition unite over tax freeze
Peterborough City Council news from The Peterborough Evening Telegraph. www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news
OPPOSITION groups on Peterborough City Council have put party politics aside and launched a campaign to freeze council tax.
A working party of councillors has been formed from the Independent group, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats to draft an alternative council budget.
It will propose accepting a Government grant in return for keeping council tax at the same level - which the Conservative-controlled cabinet says is impossible without imposing cuts to services.
The council’s cabinet, which meets today, is proposing a 2.95 per cent tax rise in 2012/13 meaning band D properties will pay an extra £32.
Councillor Nick Sandford, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “It seems crazy that central Government is offering us this money and we are not going to take it.
“We think there are too many frivolous pet projects which could be funded through commercial sponsorship.
“People are seeing reductions in their wages and finding it hard to make ends meet. If the Government is offering a massive grant we shouldn’t turn round and add pressure to household budgets.”
The news comes off the back of yesterday’s statement by Government minister Bob Neill calling on ET readers to lobby the council to accept the grant.
Councillor Stephen Lane, who is representing the Independents on the working group, said it was the first time he could remember opposition groups working together in this way.
He said: “The issue I have with the budget as it stands is there is too much pain for the ordinary people to help big business, for instance, the plans to introduce super-fast broadband.
“And without wanting to be too confrontational, I want to know why the adult social care bill has gone up so suddenly?
“But we are working as hard as we can to find a way round this problem and keep council tax frozen.”
Councillor Ed Murphy, the Labour representative on the group, is also opposed to the proposed increase.
He said: “We are still working out exactly what as a group we want in the amendment but we want to freeze council tax. Reducing the numbers of people in the cabinet would be a good start.”
But council leader Councillor Marco Cereste angrily hit out at the group and said he would have loved to have taken the grant.
He says if the council accepts the one-off grant it will leave a £1.6 million hole in the following year’s budget.
Cllr Cereste said: “If this was just politics I would take the grant.
“It is the easiest thing to do, take the money and worry about the hole in the budget the year after.
“That’s not the best thing for the city. If the people of Peterborough come to us and tell us they want to cut services then fine.
“But what is a child’s life worth? We have got to put the money into children’s services to turn it round to protect our children. If we don’t we could have a child’s life on our hands.”
Cambridgeshire Police Authority yesterday approved plans to increase its precept by 2.92 per cent, adding £4.95 to a band D tax bill.
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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