Rosemary Powell, County Councillor for Whissendine Ward reports:

The start of the new year is budget setting time at Rutland County Council when the annual budget for 2022/23 is drawn up and Councillors will vote (on 28th February) on the rate of council tax and the level of fees and charges for council services for next year. The draft budget has been published and Cabinet is proposing a council tax increase of 4.99% in order to achieve a break-even position. The public consultation on the budget runs from 19th January to 9th February. Further information, including frequently asked questions, is on www.rutland.gov.uk. Search on Annual Budget 22/23.

You will not be surprised to learn that, as a chartered accountant, I review the budget in detail each year and submit a comprehensive list of questions. Local Authority finances are complex but in-depth challenge is required to ensure that all areas of spending are examined.  My priorities, through my role as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, member of the group reviewing the Council’s constitution and involvement with the Cross-Party working group on the new Local plan, are to focus on the things that will make a difference to services to residents, whether it is through improvements to the system for recording highways incidents, speeding up the responses to residents’ queries, or to ensuring transparency in the process of creating a new Local Plan.

No council wants to increase council tax by more than is necessary, especially at the current time of increasing prices and squeeze on household finances. Rutland gets significantly less government funding per household than other similar authorities and relies heavily on council tax to fund services with just over 80% of funding coming from council tax compared to a national average of 60%. The spend for next year is budgeted at £42.3m.  Whilst considerable savings have already been made a £2.2 million gap is still predicted for 23/24. Rutland currently has a healthy level of reserves but it is not sustainable in the long term to continue to dip into them. I will be actively involved in the difficult decisions that will have to be made about any future savings or changes to service.

A hardship fund is available for people on low incomes struggling to pay their council tax. Please contact RCC for further details, or me, in strictest confidence.

Do contact me if you have any questions and do participate in the public consultation

Best wishes
Rosemary Powell
County Councillor
Whissendine Ward
474257
rpowell@rutland.gov.uk

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