REDDITCH Borough Council has approved its budget of £9.543m for the coming year.
At its meeting on Monday, February 25, the council rubber stamped a budget which sees an extra £140,000 for homeless services and £80,000 more to improve waste collections.
It means a 2.2 per cent rise in the Borough Council’s portion of the local council tax, taking the charge to the average band D property to £239.15 – an increase of £5.14 for the year.
The council’s decision means the average overall council tax in Redditch – across the borough and district councils, police, fire, and with Feckenham Parish Council included – is £1,823.33 this year, an increase of 4.33 per cent or £75.68 for the year.
The portfolio holder for corporate management, Coun Tom Baker-Price (Con, Arrow Valley), said: “We have worked hard in difficult financial circumstances to produce this balanced budget since taking control of the council in May 2018.
“We’ve included savings and additional income of more than £1.1million and provided, among other things, more money for those in need and waste collection services for the people of Redditch.”
Leader of the council, Coun Matt Dormer, said: “We continue to focus on providing value for money for residents.
“We do a whole lot more than just collecting bins every week but when we do collect them we do it for less than the price of a chocolate bar.
“That’s great value and we are driving that across all of the council’s services, whether its maintaining our public spaces, helping people live in their homes, or bringing economic development to the town centre.”
