Proposing a Zero Rise in Folkestone's Council Tax

I'd like to thank all who have been involved in the budgeting process, including the Community Services Committee who very carefully reviewed all their service expenditure this year, the finance committee, and especially the Town Clerk and Finance officer who have worked hard to deliver this budget this evening.

A cynic once said that setting a zero increase in tax - as this Council achieved last year - is the sort of thing Councils do before an election, and never what they do in the year after an election.

I'm delighted this Council has an opportunity to set a zero percent rise in tax in the year after an election as well - and still deliver more expenditure on services. In Folkestone, we keep our promises.

What would be cynical would be to increase Council Tax when there is no reason to do so. This budget:

• Adds over £10,000 to the services budget for next year
• Adds to both the Property Reserve and General Reserve in this year
• Creates a £40,000 contingency budget for this year, to help the Council deal with uncertainties that may need to be dealt with in the next year that cannot currently be quantified

The budget includes every pound requested by all committees of the Council. Every area where more expenditure has been requested has got it. It even goes beyond that requested by committees, where £10,000 has been allocated to a "recurring events" - to support events such as Charivari, the Literary Festival, or any of the regular events which make Folkestone what it is.

From March 2005 to March 2008, this Council will have taken around £1.47million in tax, and added £272,500 to reserves.

Over 18% of the tax taken in that time, this Council hasn't spent. Reserves are important, and from nothing, they had to be developed. This council has done an excellent job at that, and should take a great deal of credit. But that rate of growth should slow. We need to keep prudent reserves, but we musn't collect a Kings ransom at the expense of tax payers.

Taxing people when we have no plans, at this time, to spend it is immoral. Its not Councillors money. It's local residents money.

It would be really easy to put down an amendment to this budget this evening to add a tax rise, and invent something to spend it on. You could even try to sell it as prudent, or the right thing to do. But it isn't.

It doesn't matter if an increase proposed is a penny a year, a pound a year or £100 a year - the principle remains the same - until we have a good reason to ask you for more tax, we won't. We shouldn't accept this evening that "its just a small tax rise" - its an unnecessary one.

The argument of adding increasing amounts to reserves such as the property reserve is enticing - but for who? Every extra pound we put into a deposit on a property now will save this Council around 6p a year on current interest rates.

The tax payer being asked for £1 now has ever right to say they would prefer to pay 6p a year in future, and if they are still here in 17 years, will take their chances. Some current tax payers won't be here in 17 years time. Why should they pay now to make savings in the future they won't be here to see?

The total Council tax that people face when they get their bills in March and April is made up by our tax, Shepway's, Kent's, the Kent Fire and Rescue Authority, and the Parks and Pleasure Grounds charity. I expect all of those will rise - they usually do.

Overall, Council tax will be higher next year anyway - more people will have the pain of meeting a bill that just keeps growing. But tonight, we can at least say that Folkestone Town Council didn't add to that pain, and didn't just ask for more money "because we can". Even for the most hardened cynic, that's a good thing.

I ask this Council to accept the budget, and the recommendations, this evening.