‘West Sussex County Council should have used reserves to minimise council tax rise’

I would not recommend anyone wade through the 175 pages of detail in the WSCC report on its website (full council, February 12), writes R. P. Gould, of Roman Way, Chichester, in the following letter.
County Hall ChichesterCounty Hall Chichester
County Hall Chichester

However, I forced myself to ‘see the wood for the trees’ and to understand the main points.

1. Our council tax increase of the maximum 4.99 per cent allowed by Government is due mainly to adult and health expenses(three per cent). This sector has been used to unreasonable cuts and I trust no more will be in the pipeline.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2. The total net revenue is £624million. This is an increase of £31million.

3. The total reserves are substantial at £232million.

4. Despite the Government statement that only the low-paid public sector staff should receive a pay increase, a one per cent rise has been anticipated at a cost of £3.5million. There are likely to be some redundancies.

I have no political bias, but I consider the council tax increase might have been smaller if some of the reserves had been used. £166 million is said to be ‘earmarked’(ie committed), but at least £58million of this looks debatable. And there is another £66million which is usable.

The cabinet member for finance has replied to my email and insists the reserves could not be touched because of all the risk and uncertainty of the economy between now and 2024. It seems that there is extreme caution bordering on panic.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chichester District Council has used reserves. If the one per cent increase in pay happens, the 16 chief officers at WSCC will gain at least £1,100 per annum and up to £1,600 for the highest salaries. So they have nothing to worry about; unlike so many of their residents who face serious financial problems.

Most councillors accepted the council tax increase without a fight. Do they really think taxpayers are getting value for their money?

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.