Rother residents face tax bill hike

The increase comes after Rother councillors decided to award themselves extra expenses at a recent cabinet meeting.

Councillors rubber-stamped the latest rates at their full council meeting on Monday.

They said it represented the lowest increase in their portion of the council tax bill across the whole of East Sussex.

Rother District Council's portion for 2010/11 will be 161.19, or just over 3 a week, on a band D home. It represents an increase of 9p a week.

Councillor Charlie Clark, who represents Bexhill's St Michael's ward, has refused to accept the increase in councillors' allowances, which amounts to an extra 163 each for the 38 members.

In last week's Observer he said 7,500 of Rother taxpayers' money would be saved if there was a freeze in councillors' allowances.

He hopes other fellow councillors will follow his lead.

"Many residents in Rother are facing hard times, many have lost their jobs, while others who have low-paid jobs have had to accept a wage freeze to stay there," Cllr Clark said.

The yearly council tax bill pays for services including parks and gardens maintenance, waste and recycling, public toilets, environmental health, licensing, and planning.

Although the collecting authority, Rother's portion makes up only around 11 per cent of the overall bill. The rest is shared between the county council, fire and police authorities.

Councillor Carl Maynard, the council's leader, said: "We are delighted to be able to approve this year's budget. We are committed to providing high-quality services to our residents, despite increasing financial pressures.

"We are pleased too that we still have the lowest council tax in the county. Our prudent financial strategy means there will be no cuts this financial year in what this council offers despite our low level of government funding."