Trafford Council has today announced it will freeze Council Tax in 2013-14 and aspires to a freeze again the following year. This is great news for local residents, especially as many other Greater Manchester councils have announced plans for an increase. Rochdale and Oldham have announced a 3.5 per cent rise, and Manchester has announced a hike of 3.7 per cent. We will be protesting against those those councils on Saturday 16 February in Albert Square, Manchester, at 12 noon.
Trafford is the lowest funded Greater Manchester authority, yet it has the lowest Council Tax. Over a number of years, Trafford has demonstrated that keeping Council Tax bills low doesn't mean that services will be decimated. The borough is keeping all of of its libraries open, is investing in adult social care, and crime continues to fall.
Today we are pleased to name Cllr Sean Anstee, Executive Member for Finance at Trafford Council, as our first "Pin-Up" of 2013. We occasionally anoint someone a TPA Pin-Up when they have saved public money or acted in the interests of the hard-pressed taxpayer (whereas TPA “Pinheads” have done the opposite). Cllr Anstee certainly makes a worthy Pin-Up.