EDDC sets an 'exemplary' Council Tax for 2009-10

With an eye to the current economic downturn, East Devon District Council last Wednesday (18 February) set an 'exemplary' Council Tax. There will be no increase in the amount householders in East Devon have to pay to EDDC in the coming year, making it the lowest in Devon.

Proposing that the EDDC precept for 2009-10 should be frozen at current levels, Miss Sara Randall Johnson, Leader of the Council, said: "Nobody is immune to the effects of the Credit Crunch, and that includes local councils like ours. But at times like this we all need to help each other - which is why we have worked out a way that we can make no increase in the Council Tax paid to EDDC by householders in our district.

"The Council Tax bill that householders in East Devon receive in March may still go up - due to charges made by others. But they will pay the same in 2009-10 for services provided by EDDC as they did last year.

"This is a very volatile time for Devon councils to be operating, not only because of the financial challenges that Governments, companies and individuals are facing, but because of the uncertainty caused by the ongoing Local Government Review.

"Despite all of this, East Devon proposes to lead the way with an exemplary budget and show how it is possible to manage resources in such a way that services can continue to be delivered without hitting hard-pressed residents in the pocket.

"This council demonstrates why Whitehall should not be tampering with the current two-tier system of local government. We are big enough to manage funds and resources effectively, whilst still being small enough to care.

"There are people out there who have lost their jobs; there are families who are struggling to make ends meet; and there are pensioners who are seeing their hard-earned savings bringing a smaller return as the interest rate plunges. This budget is for them".

Miss Randall Johnson added that due to prudent budgeting in the past, the Council has reserves on which it can draw in order to keep charges down. She said there would be no general increase in car park charges, although one or two prime sites may see a small rise.
She was also pleased to reveal that EDDC was now charging the lowest Council Tax in Devon.

Turning to the way that EDDC proposes to freeze Council Tax without reducing service levels, Miss Randall Johnson went on: "We always work hard to ensure that we give our residents the best possible value for money. This year, we have had to pull out all the stops to find ways of operating in a more challenging commercial environment without passing on costs to householders.
"We will make even better use of Government funding than before and we will continue to charge commercial fees for our services. That helps us to keep down the amount we ask for in Council Tax.

"In 2009-10, we are asking our Council Tax payers for £6.663m. A typical Band D Council Tax payer will pay £118.24 a year, exactly the same as last year and equivalent to paying just £2.27 a week for all the basic services EDDC provides.

"Delivering the ambitious programme of improvements set out in our Corporate Strategy will not be cheap but, through careful financial management, we believe we are again offering excellent value for money in the coming year".