Shepway Plan Inflation Busting 4.7% Council Tax Rise

2.25.00pm GMT Mon 11th Feb 2008

A report to Shepway Council has confirmed that Shepway Council are planning an inflation busting 4.7% increase in Council tax this year. Band D Council Tax excluding other precepts will rise from £217.94 to £228.18. Taken alongside the introduction of the new Garden Tax for collection of Brown-top bins, a household retaining their bin will see their Shepway tax rise to £263.18 - a MASSIVE 21% increase.

Reacting to news, Cllr Lynne Beaumont, Leader of the Lib Dems on Shepway Council, said:

'Residents will be dismayed to find out that Shepway Council Tax is going up yet again and by MORE than the rate of inflation. This news is bad enough, but the really bad news is that this figure doesn't really tell the whole story. The Council is putting up other charges enormously - just look at the new charge for garden waste collection. A typical resident that has a garden waste bin will actually be paying a whooping 21% increase to Shepway Council!

"To add insult to injury, even after these swingeing increases the Council hasn't got enough money to do the basics like replace broken street signs or resource new litter bins. People are being asked to pay more for less.

"This rise is the result of appalling financial mismanagement - remember, these people wasted £1 Million on a failed sports centre bid without a brick being laid, wasted £1 Million on a fleet of recycling lorries that had to be scrapped. They also have 10 members of their group in the Cabinet at a cost of around £8,000 per cabinet member - 3 more than were in the Cabinet to May."

Folkestone Town Council Lib Dem Group Leader, Tim Prater, added:

"For most households in Shepway its a triple whammy: more tax from their town or parish council, more tax from Shepway, and more tax from Kent - on top of the new Shepway Garden Tax. For example, in Hythe, the Tory Town Council has put up their Council tax by a huge 15%!

"One bright spot is for Folkestone residents, where the Lib Dem Town Council has FROZEN their Council Tax for the second year running - while still budgeting more for services."