Selby council tax set to be frozen for third year (From York Press)

Selby council tax set to be frozen for third year

9:36am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

COUNCIL tax in the Selby district is likely to be frozen for the third year running, despite the authority calling for a rise just weeks ago.

The authority is also set to delay proposals to introduce a £26 charge for emptying green bins.

In December, The Press revealed the council would increase the council tax after it declined an offer for funding from the Government equal to one per cent, but yesterday, the authority announced it had made sufficient savings in the last three years to allow another council tax freeze.

Council leader Mark Crane said: “Times remain tough. Although inflation has come down recently, wages remain subdued and older people are getting less return on their savings, and that means the pound in your pocket doesn’t go as far.

“We’ve made massive changes to how we do things which has delivered significant savings.

“That’s put us in a strong financial position compared to many.

“And that means we’re able to propose a ‘no change’ to council tax and no charges for green waste at the moment.

“That’s something we’ll look at in more detail later in the year.”

If the budget proposal is accepted, council tax will remain at the same level as it has since 2010, with the average charge £158.88, the equivalent of about £3 per week.

The council has made about £3.8 million in savings since 2010, which means it is capable of maintaining the freeze, and could pass on £26,000 to parish councils to help them cope with changes to the council tax benefit changes due in April.

Councillor Cliff Lunn, executive member for finance and resources, said: “National welfare changes have the potential to have a significant impact on parish councils, so the district council is providing this one-off funding to give them additional time to make the savings they need to balance their books in the future.”

More work is set to take place on possible charges for green waste in future, but the decision on freezing council tax will go before full council on February 26.