Council agrees budget for 2009/10

Release date: Feb 20, 200

Below inflation increase in council tax of 2.9 per cent, equal to the lowest in Oxfordshire...

South Oxfordshire District Council last night agreed a below inflation increase in council tax of 2.9 per cent. Despite the current economic problems, the council has set a council tax increase that is equal to the lowest in Oxfordshire.

At the council meeting, the council’s cabinet member for finance, Cllr Rodney Mann, put forward a net revenue budget in excess of £50 million for 2009/10, which was supported by the majority of his fellow councillors. The budget has enabled the council to keep its council tax as low as possible, whilst at the same time putting finance into important initiatives that will help it deliver its corporate objectives. The district council’s tax bill will be £123.73 for a typical band D property.

The council has made this possible through creating efficiency savings of 1.5 million over the past year. This includes creating a shared management team and joint waste service with the Vale of White Horse District Council, and an ongoing project to review all the council’s internal operations to find more efficient ways of providing them to save money in the long run.

Rodney Mann said:

“We are faced with increasing costs and decreases in the income we generate from people using our services, such as planning. However, despite the tough economic climate, we’ve done our best not to pass this pressure on to our residents – reflected in the fact that our increase is less than inflation and less than last year’s rise, when we were in a stronger financial position.

“We were determined not to cut services or lower our standards to achieve this, so we carried out a number of radical initiatives, which have saved us £1.5 million to put toward our budget this year. So this year’s budget not only sees services continuing and improving, but additional projects launching, for example, flood alleviation schemes across the district, works to Ladygrove in Didcot, and additional funding to support our market towns.”

Ends

Council tax breakdown - typical council tax for a Band D property:

£1,471.25 (Example Band D Property)
-1,130.62 County Council
-0,151.27 Thames Valley Police
-0,065.63 Town or Parish Council
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£0,123.73 South Oxfordshire District Council

By joining forces with Vale of White Horse District Council to create a shared management team, the council is saving £450,000 per year. The council’s joint waste service will save both districts £500,000 per year combined from October onwards. The council is also currently running a programme called Fit for the Future, which reviews all internal operations and looks at how to do things more efficiently to save money in the long-run. So far, the programme has identified over £500,000 worth of annual savings.

Contact:

the communications team on 01491 823 108

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