Bury faces a 5% council tax rise and parking charges at free car parks. This aims to address funding challenges and protect services.
Residents could see a 5% council tax increase. Forty free car parks might get charges. The council aims to protect services and meet funding challenges.
Next year’s financial gap was £19.5m. It’s now down to £5.8m, due to better funding from the government and one-off grants.
A Band D property’s council tax will jump from £2,289 to £2,414 yearly, an extra £125 per household. A £2 parking charge is considered at 40 free car parks, potentially affecting Prestwich, Radcliffe, and Whitefield, as well as Tottington and Ramsbottom. They don’t want to hurt the towns.
A councillor criticized broken promises, saying Labour promised a tax cut. He claims the budget hurts pensioners and small businesses, adding that parking charges will hurt their livelihoods.
Conservatives and Radcliffe First suggested changes. Tories wanted to stop parking charges, proposing £100 for older taxpayers and a small business fund. They wanted to delay capital works using vacant staff budget money.
Radcliffe First wanted money for operations with cheaper pest control and quarterly skips in problem areas. The councillors voted down both changes, so Labour’s budget will stand.
The council faces a huge challenge yearly, Thorpe said. They must balance the budget and provide services. The council got an extra £6 million. External grants also helped them greatly.
The situation isn’t as bad as feared. Bury gets less money than similar councils. Social care demand keeps growing as the population is getting older.
Local government finance needs review. Bury faces huge budget pressures. The government should change the system. Then Bury will get a fair deal.