Council tax due to East Sussex County Council, and which forms part of the total council tax we pay to Rother District Council, is to rise. The leader of ESCC, Keith Glazier, explains why:
“I’d like to warmly thank everyone who has backed our Stand Up for East Sussex campaign, which calls on the Government to give more support to our county. Almost 6,000 people signed our petition to the Prime Minister – a strong message from every corner of East Sussex. It’s heartening to know that so many of us, whatever our political outlook, agree on this cause.
In the meantime, we at East Sussex County Council have to set an annual budget with the limited resources we have. This means some very difficult choices about where to save money, even though more and more people want our services, because the funding we get is disappearing.
Today (January 24 – Ed.) my cabinet colleagues and I have recommended a budget for the year ahead. Our priority is to direct money to people who need it most, especially our elderly residents and children who require care and protection. To help pay for this, our proposal is to increase council tax – by about £1.51 a week (i.e. £78.52 for the year – Ed.) for a typical (Band D) home.
We are also suggesting savings in many areas. including some reductions in libraries, household waste sites, frequency of grass-cutting, professional support for schools and a range of adult social care services. If this budget is approved, we’d make savings of £17 million.This would bring our savings since the start of the decade to £130 million – that would have been enough to provide care for 6,500 vulnerable adults or repair 2.6 million potholes.
This intense financial pressure is also why we value your support for our campaign so highly. Unless something changes in the way local authorities like East Sussex County Council are funded, fewer and fewer people in our county will find the support we’d all like to see them receive.
Even so, we’re able to propose significant spending for the year ahead – £371 million on vital services and almost £100 million on one-off projects such as extra school places and improvements for drivers, cyclists and walkers. Please visit our budget pages if you’d like to know more.
My thanks again to all those standing up for East Sussex.”
Photo: ESCC