Town council tax frozen at 2010 rates
MHBG-08-03-12 Kieron Mallon Cllr Kieron Mallon
Council tax rates will be frozen at 2010 figures following a unanimous vote by town councillors.
Last week councillors agreed to freeze Banbury Town Council’s element of council tax for the third consecutive year.
At the council’s budget meeting last Tuesday, council leader Cllr Kieron Mallon said: “This is possible because the council has invested wisely in previous years.
“Actions taken in the past are continuing to pay off so that we can carry on providing all services and improving them where we can.”
He said Banbury remained a debt-free council and was not tied to paying thousands of pounds a year in interest payments – and through shrewd investments was anticipating a £37,000 increase in investment income which will be used to offset inflation.
He said: “Money being saved in one area is being transferred elsewhere.
“About £175,000 savings on the current town hall refurbishment will go to other services – £150,000 will go to parks and open spaces for improvement and maintenance and an additional £20,000 will be spent on salt bins, triple last year’s budget. The refurbishment will increase the profitability of the town hall by increasing its hire capacity and the facilities available.”
He added: “Other gains include £15,000 from an increase in income after a marketing campaign saw more teams hiring out our football pitches.
“There was also a drop in the cost of cleaning the pavilions thanks to a self-clean hire scheme.
“The scheme means the council has reduced the costs to the clubs by working in partnership with them.”
He said another plus factor was the ahead-of-schedule completion of a five-year maintenance project on the town’s football pitches and pavilions.
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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