Burnley Council to ask for 1.9% more from residents

Tax for Band D properties is set to go up by just over £5 a year, while Band A properties can expect to pay an extra £3.50 – as the Burnley Council element of council tax is increased by 1.9%.

On top of this, increases from other sectors such as Lancashire County Council and the police can also be expected.

Councillors will next week put the final touches to their proposed revenue budget for the financial year beginning in April and this will be debated and voted on by the Full Council on February 24th.

Councillors, faced with a £1m. cut in funding from the Government, have a working budget of £15.2m. for 2016/17.

Councillors had already identified savings at the end of last year. These included re-tendering the waste collection contract, cutting management salaries, training budgets and energy costs, and taking £250,000 from reserves which have been built up to help during financially tough times.

Coun. Wajid Khan, Executive Member for Resources and Performance Management, said the council had taken a responsible approach and found more efficient ways of working, including through new contracts with Liberata and Urbaser, who provide essential services; increased fees and charges, mostly of around 2%, for some council services, making each service area more efficient and reducing the spend on publicity.

Council leader Mark Townsend said the £1m. cut from Whitehall was equivalent to 23% of its revenue support grant between this financial year and the next.

It is estimated the council will need to save a further £4m. by 2020 – around 26% of the current budget.