Feb 2010 04

Walsall Council set to hike CT by 3.9%2

Whilst the notoriously wasteful Sandwell Council attempt to keep their council tax increase to 1.4% or below (not a cut but a vast improvement no less), residents in Walsall look to be facing an enormous 3.9% rise following a budget meeting last night.

Walsall Council According to the Walsall Advertiser the council has made efficiency savings of £11.2m to redirect to frontline services, though they’ve also found £1m to support the increasingly prominent green agenda.

Though Walsall are by no means among the worst offenders in West Midlands local government, this is an alarmingly steep hike, especially as the last TPA Town Hall Rich List clearly shows that this authority are paying 6 executives whopping £100k+ salaries totalling at least £760k. What’s more, just fourteen months ago we revealed that they were paying out almost £1.4m for publicity, an increase of 77% in just ten years.

We can only hope that they’ve sloughed some of this expenditure as part of their efficiency savings.

Families are still struggling in the wake of the recession – particularly in Walsall where unemployment is significantly higher than the national average – and this 3.9% increase isn’t going to help. Though we’re all aware that our councils are facing extra strain at the moment too, it’s time they got even tougher and really eliminated all wasteful or unnecessary spending rather than keeping questionable positions, initiatives and even departments and bumping up our tax to sustain them.

Related Posts

  • Hardeep Singh

    The MPs have got nothing on the local council elite when it coms to utter wastage. What’s worse is the attitude that seems to run through most councils that people are some kind of cash ATM. Why this lack of respect for other people’s lack of funds and misery? Walsall is not special to say the least and yet they seem to be spending ever greater amounts on nonsense.
    What we need is a PriceWaterhouse style independent audit to highlight the complete lack of management.

  • john holling

    What about the 22.5% increase announced by Skegness town council for 2010/11 as their proportion of East Lindsey Council Tax!