By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
A council tax hike in Gedling has been approved by the ruling Labour group following a row over Conservative proposals to pay for a freeze by cutting councillors’ allowances.
Gedling Borough Council approved a three per cent rise in council tax during a budget meeting on March 2.
The decision followed a heated debate between Labour and Conservative members.
The decision will hit Band D homes with a £5.34 annual rise for the borough council’s portion of household council tax bills.
For residents in Band A homes, this equates to £3.56 more per year, with £4.15 and £4.75 increases for Bands B and C homes respectively.
Soaring inflation and rising energy prices have contributed to a gap of £1.8m in the council’s general fund, which needs to be filled in 2023/24.
This has been compounded by a national £1,925 pay award for all employees, hitting budgets by nearly £1m in the current financial year.
A further five per cent pay increase is expected in the 2023/24 financial year, affecting budgets by a further £774,900 from April.
Leader of the council, Cllr John Clarke (Lab), says the Government “decided not to fund” the pay rise, leaving it to the council.
The council expects to raise £221,200 through the council tax hike.
Cllr Clarke said: “This year’s budget continues to be set against a backdrop of historic cuts to central government grant funding from 2010/11, and declining income levels, not only that we have rising inflation and rising demand placing Gedling and many other public services under incredible pressure.”
Gedling also received the fifth-lowest settlement from the Government in England, meaning its core spending power has seen an eight per cent cut since 2015 to 2016, falling from £12.7m to £11.6m in 2023.
Cllr Clarke said “regrettably” it is left with no choice but to raise council tax levels by 2.98 per cent.
“I am sure we all agree in this chamber that local authorities have been disproportionally hit by the cuts but such is the magnitude of funding reductions that maintaining business as usual has been a mammoth task to achieve and yet this administration has achieved it for another year,” Cllr Clarke added.
The council has already had to come up with six different savings programmes totalling £7m since 2014/15
Included in the cuts is £25,000 from the Environment department.
During the three-hour meeting Gedling’s Conservative Group proposed what they described as a “Robin Hood” amendment.
Conservative councillors said the need to make savings was down to “financial incompetence” from the council, including the need to refund taxi operators to the tune of £150,000 due to overcharging.
Detailing the amendment Cllr Mike Adams (Con), the leader of the Conservative Group, said: “The amendment before you reduces the members’ allowances, removes the special responsibility allowances for senior Labour councillors who chair committees and removes the allowances for policy advisers.
“You did read that correctly, it will remove £26,000 that committee chairs get and advisers.
“Then there is the two-thirds reduction for all councillors, equating to a £189,000 saving.
“This will lead to a zero per cent increase in council tax this year.”
Cllr Adams added: “The amendment is people over politicians. It is dynamism over narcissism and truly takes the failed establishment that stands before us today and says who do you really care about?
“It puts you in a position to either vote for yourselves, line your own pockets, or instead it gives you an opportunity.
“If you do vote against this you are drawing your line in the sand.
“You are putting yourselves directly on the side of yourselves. It is an opportunity to, for once, not do that, for once to take in the whole of Gedling borough and in fact do something and help your residents out by freezing their council tax at arguably one of the most difficult times.”
Cllr Sam Smith (Con), chief whip of the Conservative Group, asked senior Labour councillors to “sacrifice” their special responsibility allowances and the amendment was put to a vote.
In response the Labour administration argued its allowances are not as high as people may perceive.
The leader, Cllr Clarke, for example, receives £15,000 a year, while policy advisers get over £1,800 per year.
The basic allowance for councillors is £4,380.60.
Deputy leader of the council, Cllr Michael Payne (Lab), responded by saying: “The Tories want to cut special responsibilities allowance for the person responsible for administering licenses for our licensed premises across Gedling, a really important job that liaises with the police and keeps people safe going in and out of drinking establishments.
“It is a legal requirement. They want to cut the allowances for the person who presides over planning committee, a legal requirement to deal with planning applications that deal with extensions to people’s houses and advancement of businesses.
“And they also make a grand-standing point about reducing members’ allowances. Nowhere does it say about removing your own allowance, does it, of the leader of the Conservative Group?”
And Cllr Clarke added: “I think you’ve got a neck to come in here and say what you’ve said. Difficult times? Who the hell put us in that position? Who did it? 13 years of Tory rule have put us in that position.
“Reduced services? Tell me where we have reduced services? We’ve stretched the services. The people here that work for Gedling Borough Council are like pieces of gold the majority of them.”
The amendment was voted down and the budget, including the tax hike, was approved.
It will come into force from April 1.
