David Smith

Councillor Colin Greatorex, Cabinet Member of Finance Revenues and Benefits, said: "Many people think councils are immune from the financial pressures businesses face, but in today's climate we are as keenly affected by market conditions as any other organisation. Council tax is only one way we raise money to deliver local services, and supports just 9% of what we do. We also get income from leisure centres, car parks and the fees we charge when people apply for planning permission. With people cutting back on things like house building, our income has dropped. Our Government grant increase is also below inflation which means it doesn't even cover cost increases in things like fuel and electricity. Together these mean we are facing a funding gap and need to find over £3 million in savings over the next three years. At the same time, we're also facing increased demand for services such as housing benefits.  

"In the past few years we've reduced our running cost by over £1.3 million a year, by introducing new systems and sharing services with nearby councils. At the moment we are systematically looking at where we can cut costs, whilst limiting the impact on local services and our staff. Because we are mid-way through the process we do not have the final picture of what these will look like, but will do so over the coming weeks. 

"We chose to keep our council tax increase low this year because we know that local people are also facing financial challenges and we want to do what we can to limit these. Even had we set our increase to 4.5 % like Tamworth Borough Council, we'd still be facing a funding gap of nearly £3 million."