East Lindsey District Council has approved its budget for the 2014/15 financial year, which will continue to see people living in East Lindsey pay the lowest rate of District Council Tax in Lincolnshire and one of the lowest in the country.
In order to deliver a balanced budget and protect services to local people the District Council’s portion of the Council Tax will increase by 1.99% – meaning most homes in the District will pay £1.79 per week for District Council services – just 8% of the total Council Tax bill. The remaining 92% is divided between Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Police, plus some Town and Parish Councils.
The Council’s Portfolio Holder for Finance, Councillor John Upsall, said: “This budget has been developed at a time of significant financial challenge nationally, with local implications. In the 2014/15 financial year we have had to identify £1.63m of savings, this is on top of those we’ve made in the current and previous years.
“As we look to the future the challenge becomes even greater with more savings required for at least the next three years. Like families and businesses, we have had to take tough budgetary decisions to ensure we can deliver a balanced budget – which is a legal requirement.
“The focus of the Council remains on protecting services to local people and leaving no stone unturned in finding new and more efficient ways to deliver our services.”
Despite these financial restraints, the Council remains committed to investing heavily in affordable housing, improved broadband provision for residents and businesses, flood alleviation, upgrading public toilets, disabled facility grants and grants which support business and create jobs.
The District Council also provides a weekly domestic and recycling waste collection, housing support and advice, street cleaning and CCTV, deals with noise nuisance complaints, carries out commercial health and safety and hygiene inspections, provides subsidised leisure facilities, removes abandoned vehicles, clears fly-tipped items, provides subsidised business centres and street lighting in some areas, maintains communal parks and gardens, provides public toilets and much more.
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