NEWS RELEASES
Council sets tax levels for 2005-2006
27th January 2005
HOUSEHOLDERS are to see the Horsham District Council element of their Council Tax rise by 1.6% in April of this year, following a meeting of the Council last night (26 January).
For a householder living in an average Band D property, this equates to an additional 4 pence per week with the cost moving from £2.18 to £2.22 per week.
At the same Council meeting, a special charge of £19.58 at a Band D property was also approved for the unparished area of the District, with effect from April 2005.
Cllr Gordon Lindsay, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources at Horsham District Council, said:
“Whilst any increase is unwelcome, we have been able to keep the increase in our element of the Council Tax to a minimum as a result of prudent financial management.
“This is despite the fact that the increase in grant from the Government is less than is needed simply to stand still.
“Even with this planned increase, people in this District pay less for district council services than most others in the south east.
“We will continue to look at ways of reducing costs while protecting services in order to maintain our ability to keep Council Tax levels as low as possible.”
The Council’s gross expenditure is set to rise from £25.855 million to £27.166 million, while the Government grant has risen from £5.23 million to just £5.39 million.
Horsham District Council’s charges form 10% of the overall Council Tax paid by householders. The overall Council Tax includes charges levied by the County Council, the Police and the parishes.
Cllr Lindsay added:
“In a separate move designed to make local taxation fairer and more transparent, the Council has also agreed that those people living in the unparished area should make a direct contribution towards the cost of their local services, as happens in the parished areas.
“Residents in the town will still be paying considerably less than other towns in West Sussex.”
Ends
CONTACT: Richard Morris, Communications Manager
(01403) 215549