Agenda item

Councillor Boden presented his motion regarding council tax and stated that:

“At its Full Council meeting on 21^st February 2019, Fenland District Council approved its budget for 2019/20 showing a 0% Council Tax increase for 2019/20, but with increases shown of 1.98% p.a. through to 2023/24 as reflected in the current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

In five out of the last eight years FDC has approved budgets with no Council Tax increase. This is a record of which the Council can be proud, given the financial constraints which FDC, as well as all other councils, has had to work within.

It is the ambition of this administration to maintain 0% increases in Council Tax throughout the MTFS period for the benefit of residents. However, it is recognised that the Council continues to face significant financial challenges and uncertainties that may not allow this ambition to be met.

Members of the Council need to act responsibly each year when setting the precept to balance the ambition of achieving a 0% Council Tax rise with the legal need to balance the budget. Nevertheless, raising Council Tax in any of the next four years will be our last resort, as we believe that we have a duty to minimise the financial effects of Council Tax on all of Fenland's households.

This Council resolves to:

1. Re-position the MTFS to show 0% Council Tax increases through to 2023/24

2. Note the revised future projected deficits from 2020/21 onwards as per the attached.

Councillor Boden further added that the purpose of this motion is to make it quite clear to residents and all members what the intent and ambition is of this administration. During the period of austerity more than 50% of the funding this council received from central government has disappeared; it would be unthinkable to envisage the results if the same amount of funding had been withdrawn from the budgets of the emergency services and armed forces. The Council has done very well facing the funding challenges during this period of austerity and shown great resilience by being able to maintain frontline services. This is due to the hard work of members of this council, its staff and officers. Further savings need to be made over the next four years so there is a significant challenge ahead. Despite this we have this ambition to not necessarily ncrease our share of council tax. It is a pledge, not a promise, but a statement of ambition to do our best to ensure that over the next four years, we do not impose any greater burden on hard working families in this district by increasing the level of council tax. Councillor Boden added that he would hope all members would agree with this motion and that we all look at our ways of working to try to ensure that our services are provided as cost effectively as possible to reduce or, if possible, eliminate the need to increase council tax. 

Councillor Mrs French and Councillor Mrs Mayor opened up the motion for debate.

·       Councillor Booth thanked Councillor Boden for clarifying the point that this is a best intention. However, he expressed surprise that it was put forward as a motion because as Leader he was sure he could have made a statement to that effect.  He welcomes what Councillor Boden said about intent but wondered if we should be more ambitious bearing in mind the council tax that our residents pay compared to our neighbours, we know is considerably higher. He added that he is surprised also that we have not taken this opportunity to look at council expenditure.  If we tell officers we are not going to increase the cost of running the council further, as you would do in the commercial field, it would see a lot of the actual savings be delivered through managing of our budget more carefully.

·       Councillor Sutton felt that this motion was not ambitious enough. He agreed that our residents pay more council tax and cited Black Bear Lane as an example.  Residents in the Norfolk end of the lane pay far less than the residents who live at the end that comes within the jurisdiction of Fenland. It can be argued that on average we are lowest because of the amount of different properties we have, but residents do not care about averages, they only care about what they pay. This council cannot justify our residents paying almost double the amount of council tax of their neighbours in the same street who pay their council tax to the neighbouring authority.

·       Councillor Tierney stated he has argued the case for lower council tax for years and is pleased that others are saying the same.  We may not achieve it, and we may have to increase it because we do not know what will happen in the future, but the key difference is that rises do not now need to be presumed.

·       Councillor Count said this is an aspiration and there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and trying to achieve something, rather than to give up before you start. He raised the additional point made by Councillor Booth as to why Councillor Boden did not just issue a statement. When this council passes a budget, and a medium term strategy alongside it, the only way that it is appropriate to change a full council decision is to bring it back to full council. It is such a huge issue that it does warrant a full debate by council and therefore he fully supports this motion.

Councillor Mrs Mayor invited Councillor Boden to give his right to reply.

Councillor Boden agreed that Councillor Count was correct in that it is necessary to bring before this council the proposal that the medium term financial strategy be re-based so that in future it works on the assumption of a 0% council tax increase rather than the 1.98% annual council tax increase, which had been presumed at previous meetings of full council. It has also come forward as a motion in order to give all members the opportunity to speak. However, he took issue with Councillor Booth in saying that our residents pay more council tax, he stated the government statistics are very clear on this in that the amount which is paid is less in Fenland than any other district council in Cambridgeshire.

Councillor Mrs Mayor asked for a vote to be taken on the motion.

The motion was passed.

(Councillor Sutton and Councillor Yeulett abstained from voting).