NEWS RELEASES
District Council Tax Agreed At 16 Pence A Week
28th February 2002
THE District Council tax part of local council tax bills was increased by 8.9% for next year (2002/03) at last night's Council meeting at Horsham District Council.
In real money, this is an increase of 16 pence a week to a total of £1.96 per week for the average Band D household.
This part of the overall tax bill received by residents equates to about 10% of the overall local council tax bill with the remainder paying in the main for services from County and Parish Councils as well as the Police.
Commenting on the increase, Cllr Vivien Lyth, Cabinet Member for Finance & Community Strategy at Horsham District Council, said:
"Nobody likes increases in taxes and the Council is very aware of the impact, particularly on those living on small or fixed incomes.
"As we always do, we have worked very hard to keep this year's increase to a minimum whilst maintaining and improving the high quality of our services.
"We believe that an average of less than £2 per week at Band D represents excellent value for all the services that the District Council provides.
"This year we have been hard hit by the allocation of Government grants and the fall in interest rates on our invested reserves.
"In spite of the Council receiving the lowest Government grant per head in West Sussex, our part of the tax is still the lowest in West Sussex and one of the lowest in the country."
Further information about the council tax is available from Tony Higgins, Director of Finance at Horsham District Council (tel: 01403 215300 Email: tony.higgins@horsham.gov.uk).
Ends
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