Mid Devon Tories Reject Lib Dems Proposal for Lower Council Tax

1.53.48pm GMT Tue 3rd Mar 2009

When Mid Devon District Council met on 25 February to fix their council tax for the next year, the leader of the Council's Liberal Democrat Opposition Group, Cllr David Nation, expressed regret that, in the new spirit of co-operation the Council is trying to engender, the Lib Dems were unable to support the 2.5% increase proposed by the controlling Conservative Group.

Cllr Nation said "These are difficult times for organisations like the Council but we must not forget they are difficult too for the public, particularly those on fixed incomes or reliant upon investment income. Our General Fund Reserves need to be a little over £1.1m - the 10% required - but they are £1.5 million and are predicted to reach £1.7 million by the year end - £600,000 more than they need be."

He said the Council could ease the lot of council tax payers by reducing reserves by around £100,000 so that the tax would need to increase by only 1.5%. He added "We lament our financial plight year after year but we are in a better position this year and can ease the lot of our residents in this way. We must not keep crying wolf."

The Lib Dems also proposed that the reserves should be reduced by a further £30,000 to be added to the budget for funding local voluntary organisations and £7,000 to reinstate the grant for a Tourist Information Centre in Crediton. Cllr Nation said that these changes would still leave sufficient reserves to deal with any unforeseen difficulties during the recession. He speculated that rapidly reducing inflation, possibly to zero by the end of the year, would increase the Council's reserves even more.

Referring to the social and cultural services provided by Mid Devon's voluntary sector, he said they would face reducing income at a time when the needs and demands of our communities for their services would increase. He added "The Council now has an opportunity to increase its support for their work."

Turning to the Tourist Information Centre in Crediton, Cllr Nation said that the Crediton Community Transport organisation had recently supplied an impressive Business Plan to enable them to provide the service. Provision should be made, he said, to provide the £7,000 grant they would need in order to support tourism and local businesses in the Crediton area.

The Conservatives opposed all the Lib Dem proposals which were consequently heavily defeated.