Central Bedfordshire Council agrees budget
Friday, 22 February 2019
At a meeting of the full Council, the budget for Central Bedfordshire a budget was approved which will limit a council tax increase to only 1% and will see increased investment in key services.
After carefully considering the feedback from the budget consultation, the council agreed to a 1% increase in council tax. The increase, which is less than half the current rate of inflation, would mean an extra 29p a week for an average household (Band D) in our area.
Based on the council's strong financial management, the council will be allocating a further £1million in CCTV, neighbourhood officers and other resources to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour like fly-tipping.
Additionally, the council are investing a further £1.05million in foot and cycle paths to encourage residents to reduce car journeys.
In recommending the budget at Executive today, Councillor Richard Wenham, Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Corporate Resources said: “We know how important the services we provide are to our residents. Maintaining and improving these services has been challenging, particularly as demand is increasing and national funding has reduced to zero this year.
However, as a very well-run council we have managed to keep our community services running without closing facilities like libraries and leisure centres. As well as continuing to deliver the services our residents expect, we will be opening a brand-new leisure centre later this year as well as investing in new school buildings, replacing care homes with modern facilities, improving existing roads and building new ones."