People across East Devon will shortly be receiving their Council Tax bills. To help them understand the charges and the help that may be available for people struggling with household bills, a partnership of councils and other agencies have produced a 40 page guidance booklet.
Council Tax Bills for 2009-10 will be arriving at homes across East Devon in the middle of this month (March) along with the bright orange A5 guidance booklet. Above: The orange front cover of this year's A5 council tax booklet
Council Tax Bills for 2009-10 will be arriving at homes across East Devon in the middle of this month (March) along with the bright orange A5 guidance booklet. Above: The orange front cover of this year's A5 council tax booklet
The booklet explains where the money goes and makes it easier for householders to understand the charging system and the many ways in which people can get help with payments.
For example, the booklet explains that EDDC collects council tax for parish councils (2%), Devon County Council (75%), Devon and Cornwall Police Authority (10%) and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (5%). EDDC's share is just 8%.
EDDC's portion of the overall Council Tax bill has been frozen at last year's rate, so this part of the bill will show no increase. But the total that each household has to pay will still be more, because there have been increases in the charges made by some of the other organisations that are part of the Council Tax process.
For each band of council tax payer, the annual amount retained by EDDC works out as follows:
Band A £78.83
Band B £91.96
Band C £105.10
Band D £118.24
Band E £144.52
Band F £170.79
Band G £197.07
Band H £236.48
Councillor Andrew Moulding, East Devon District Council's Portfolio Holder Resources, said: "EDDC has the job of collecting Council Tax on behalf of five organisations, including itself. It's important that the public understand the difference between how much of their Council Tax payment EDDC actually keeps and how much it hands on to the other organisations.
"For the average Band D household, the annual payment to EDDC is £118.24 - that's just £2.27 per week, the same as last year. The full amount payable in the coming year by each Band D household after adding together the various agencies who take a share of the money is £28 a week. So in fact EDDC will be handing on £25.73 to others".
The new booklet also contains helpful advice for those who may be struggling to pay household bills in these difficult times. The message is: "Don't bury your head in the sand. If you are in danger of getting into arrears, please seek advice from an EDDC advisor as soon as possible".
Before dialling, please remember two things:
This is a very hectic few weeks for staff in EDDC's Council Tax service, so phone lines may be busy. Please be patient if you can't get through first time
To save you time, have a look through the orange guidance booklet, produced jointly by EDDC and its partner councils in East Devon, together with the police and fire authorities - it may just tell you what you need to know and save you a phone call.
The booklet is packed with useful information about the services that are paid for through council tax and examples of how this works in practice in everyday life.
The guide has 40 pages of facts and figures, diagrams and pictures. It covers every aspect of the Council Tax - from who receives the money to how it is spent and from what each parish will pay to how people on a low income can receive help.
Included are contributions from:
Devon County Council
Devon and Cornwall Police Authority
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority
East Devon District Council
The joint council tax and performance summary is produced by the organisations listed above working together and sharing the costs. Government legislation requires these authorities to inform council tax payers about many aspects of the council tax. The booklet is considered to be the most user-friendly way of presenting the information at a reasonable cost (15p per household) and also makes it possible to pass on other useful facts about the work these organisations do throughout the year.
There are sections on:
Coping on a low income
Helping pensioners or people who are disabled
Dealing with financial or legal problems
How the council tax "cake" is shared out across Devon
How each authority spends the money it gets
What services you get from EDDC
How these match the Council's priorities
There are also useful phone numbers including:
EDDC's Council Tax and Benefits Helpline
Business Rates Helpline
Inland Revenue Tax Credit Helpline
Pension Service
CAREdirect
Registering to vote
Concessionary Bus Fares Helpline
The Benefit Fraud Hotline
The booklet will be available from the end of March on EDDC's website at: http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk
The Council Tax bills themselves are now more user-friendly, with clearer contact details and more easily identifiable payment options. They also include information about efficiency savings.
To reduce call handling time, there are direct lines for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries. However, with some 60,000 bills issued, the first week or so will bring a high level of enquiries.
An EDDC spokesman said: "Every call is important to us, but we expect to experience above average call volumes in the immediate period after bills are received. So we would ask customers to please be patient and bear with us".
The direct line for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries is: 01395 517 446.
The number for all general EDDC enquiries is 01395 516 551.
With their Council Tax Bill, householders will also receive a notice giving details of changes to Refuse and Recycling collections over the Easter, May and August Bank Holiday weekends.
For example, the booklet explains that EDDC collects council tax for parish councils (2%), Devon County Council (75%), Devon and Cornwall Police Authority (10%) and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (5%). EDDC's share is just 8%.
EDDC's portion of the overall Council Tax bill has been frozen at last year's rate, so this part of the bill will show no increase. But the total that each household has to pay will still be more, because there have been increases in the charges made by some of the other organisations that are part of the Council Tax process.
For each band of council tax payer, the annual amount retained by EDDC works out as follows:
Band A £78.83
Band B £91.96
Band C £105.10
Band D £118.24
Band E £144.52
Band F £170.79
Band G £197.07
Band H £236.48
Councillor Andrew Moulding, East Devon District Council's Portfolio Holder Resources, said: "EDDC has the job of collecting Council Tax on behalf of five organisations, including itself. It's important that the public understand the difference between how much of their Council Tax payment EDDC actually keeps and how much it hands on to the other organisations.
"For the average Band D household, the annual payment to EDDC is £118.24 - that's just £2.27 per week, the same as last year. The full amount payable in the coming year by each Band D household after adding together the various agencies who take a share of the money is £28 a week. So in fact EDDC will be handing on £25.73 to others".
The new booklet also contains helpful advice for those who may be struggling to pay household bills in these difficult times. The message is: "Don't bury your head in the sand. If you are in danger of getting into arrears, please seek advice from an EDDC advisor as soon as possible".
Before dialling, please remember two things:
This is a very hectic few weeks for staff in EDDC's Council Tax service, so phone lines may be busy. Please be patient if you can't get through first time
To save you time, have a look through the orange guidance booklet, produced jointly by EDDC and its partner councils in East Devon, together with the police and fire authorities - it may just tell you what you need to know and save you a phone call.
The booklet is packed with useful information about the services that are paid for through council tax and examples of how this works in practice in everyday life.
The guide has 40 pages of facts and figures, diagrams and pictures. It covers every aspect of the Council Tax - from who receives the money to how it is spent and from what each parish will pay to how people on a low income can receive help.
Included are contributions from:
Devon County Council
Devon and Cornwall Police Authority
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority
East Devon District Council
The joint council tax and performance summary is produced by the organisations listed above working together and sharing the costs. Government legislation requires these authorities to inform council tax payers about many aspects of the council tax. The booklet is considered to be the most user-friendly way of presenting the information at a reasonable cost (15p per household) and also makes it possible to pass on other useful facts about the work these organisations do throughout the year.
There are sections on:
Coping on a low income
Helping pensioners or people who are disabled
Dealing with financial or legal problems
How the council tax "cake" is shared out across Devon
How each authority spends the money it gets
What services you get from EDDC
How these match the Council's priorities
There are also useful phone numbers including:
EDDC's Council Tax and Benefits Helpline
Business Rates Helpline
Inland Revenue Tax Credit Helpline
Pension Service
CAREdirect
Registering to vote
Concessionary Bus Fares Helpline
The Benefit Fraud Hotline
The booklet will be available from the end of March on EDDC's website at: http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk
The Council Tax bills themselves are now more user-friendly, with clearer contact details and more easily identifiable payment options. They also include information about efficiency savings.
To reduce call handling time, there are direct lines for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries. However, with some 60,000 bills issued, the first week or so will bring a high level of enquiries.
An EDDC spokesman said: "Every call is important to us, but we expect to experience above average call volumes in the immediate period after bills are received. So we would ask customers to please be patient and bear with us".
The direct line for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries is: 01395 517 446.
The number for all general EDDC enquiries is 01395 516 551.
With their Council Tax Bill, householders will also receive a notice giving details of changes to Refuse and Recycling collections over the Easter, May and August Bank Holiday weekends.
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