Message from Cllr Maurice Jones deputy leader of CBC to Cranfield Parish Council
Dear Clerk of the Council
I am writing to update you on our budget and Council Tax for 2013/2014.
Last week the council agreed our budget which includes freezing our share of Council Tax for the third year in a row and making £14m of savings.
The budget also sets out our plans for spending the £189m of available funding on services for local people, including waste and recycling, looking after roads, running libraries, children’s centres, leisure centres and theatres and providing social care for disabled children, adults and for older people.
We have also published our draft capital programme of £84m, which outlines investments in road maintenance - an area which residents highlighted as important in a last year’s survey – as well as street lighting and new residential care facilities.
Other priorities for the 2013/14 budget include equalising Council Tax rates so that residents in the south of the area pay the same slightly lower rate as those in the north. In effect this means a reduction in Council Tax for residents in the south of Central Bedfordshire for the second year.
We've constructed a robust budget that reflects the feedback residents gave us in our budget survey last year. We got strong feedback that any savings should come from the back office to protect frontline services. Most of the £14m savings will come from efficiency measures such as renegotiating contracts, merging teams and sharing resources in order to protect our services.
We have a proven track record of delivering savings, having reduced our operating costs by £50m since the council came into existence around four years ago. Throughout the whole budget process, we have been very clear that we do not want to put extra pressure on families’ budgets by raising council tax and our focus has been on ensuring that residents receive great services that represent maximum value for money for the council tax they pay. We have scrutinised every area of spend to look at where savings can be made and we remain determined to drive out every penny of unnecessary cost.
Email: maurice.jones@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Dear Clerk of the Council
I am writing to update you on our budget and Council Tax for 2013/2014.
Last week the council agreed our budget which includes freezing our share of Council Tax for the third year in a row and making £14m of savings.
The budget also sets out our plans for spending the £189m of available funding on services for local people, including waste and recycling, looking after roads, running libraries, children’s centres, leisure centres and theatres and providing social care for disabled children, adults and for older people.
We have also published our draft capital programme of £84m, which outlines investments in road maintenance - an area which residents highlighted as important in a last year’s survey – as well as street lighting and new residential care facilities.
Other priorities for the 2013/14 budget include equalising Council Tax rates so that residents in the south of the area pay the same slightly lower rate as those in the north. In effect this means a reduction in Council Tax for residents in the south of Central Bedfordshire for the second year.
We've constructed a robust budget that reflects the feedback residents gave us in our budget survey last year. We got strong feedback that any savings should come from the back office to protect frontline services. Most of the £14m savings will come from efficiency measures such as renegotiating contracts, merging teams and sharing resources in order to protect our services.
We have a proven track record of delivering savings, having reduced our operating costs by £50m since the council came into existence around four years ago. Throughout the whole budget process, we have been very clear that we do not want to put extra pressure on families’ budgets by raising council tax and our focus has been on ensuring that residents receive great services that represent maximum value for money for the council tax they pay. We have scrutinised every area of spend to look at where savings can be made and we remain determined to drive out every penny of unnecessary cost.
Email: maurice.jones@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
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