Tough decision on council tax at Lichfield

This year’s council tax setting at Lichfield District Council has been tough. It’s yet to be formally agreed by full council but the Cabinet’s recommendation is usually adopted.

Council tax is always a touchy subject and as central government has squeezed the funding for district and borough councils as part of efforts to get rid of that tier in favour of a single County Unitary it’s got more difficult to make public ‘ends’ meet. The Lichfield settlement decided last year by government was under 1% per annum for a 3 year period against inflation for last year of about 4% and general public sector wage increases (again decided by government) of 2.5%. So there’s a big and growing gap.

As Deputy Leader at District level I sit with seven other elected members in the Cabinet at Lichfield… the same principle as central government, we make decisions, with the agreement of the 56 strong full council, on a daily basis and generally run things supported by the paid service officers. That includes council tax.

And for the first time there has been very significant disagreement over what to do regarding the council tax level. In my County role, particularly, alngside my normal workload I’ve seen real hardship for some constituents during the financial crisis. I’ve now got well over a dozen serious cases I’m looking at relating directly to the economic problems.

Several are in terrible difficulty with mortgages because of losing their jobs, a couple relate to benefits which have not been paid when they should have been and I’m also seeing a big rise in households having problems paying utility bills. The latter, in two cases particularly, has resulted in what I think is shocking behaviour by electricity companies. I’m making some progress on all but to be honest what I’m seeing and experiencing through others has affected me.

Because of that, a stronger more overt political conviction has come to the fore in my thinking. And that has affected my stance on council tax. Lichfield Cabinet have been discussing proposals by council financial officers for several weeks and it’s been made all the more difficult by the worsening financial situation at the District Council. Unlike the County Council, which is almost entirely funded by local and central taxes and therefore not affected so much by the economic climate, districts and borough councils rely very heavily on commercial type operations… much like normal businesses do.

Car parking, planning applications, leisure centres and ‘fees’ in general are all suffering while additional pressure on benefits and housing resources coupled with a growing draw on general council services as a result of the recession are all conspiring towards a major budgetary headache.

Officer recommendations are non-political and their strong view was that we needed a high council tax rise of 4.5% to safeguard public services and the council’s finances. To me and others on Cabinet that was clearly not an option and was dismissed by all but one of my colleagues. But the revised figure of 3.5% was also too high in my view. Yes the finances are bad, dreadful actually, but I firmly believe that we cannot and must not ignore how difficult it is for people who are required under law to pay whatever council tax we set.

Admittedly the amount Lichfield DC sets is tiny compared to the County but it’s also a statement in my view. We either understand and care about what people are going through financially in Lichfield district or we take the view that we can set what ever is needed by the council’s financial position. For me, and it was a view shared by enough but not all colleagues around the table, we should make a stand to firmly recognise the difficulties many people are having financially. The widespread view that people involved in politics at all levels don’t live in the real world worries me immensely.

I hope people don’t think that of me and I’m very aware of my comfortable circumstances compared to many. What is absolute fact is that what I’ve seen as a County Councillor during the last few months has reinforced that position of relative comfort in my mind and of late, with what I’ve experienced, I’ve actually found myself feeling guilty at times.

We’ll be taking a figure of 2.9% rise in council tax to full council next week. I wanted closer to 2 but, along with others, was reluctantly convinced that 2.9 was well below anything which would normally be financially sensible, whatever the circumstances. My conscience is still just about intact because I know, in very great detail, that the figure we are going for will cause real problems for the District Council. That may sound like an utterly bizarre and reckless statement but the current situation means that we absolutely have to ignore our legal ability to demand whatever is needed financially in favour of sharing some of the pain many people are feeling.

I also find myself in a ‘place’ politically of conviction and I’m comfortable with that.

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