INVESTMENT and improvements to efficiency are at the heart of steps being taken to get the most out Rother’s £16.7 million net budget.
Rother District Council members agreed the authority’s 2023/24 budget to fund essential services including waste collection and recycling, licensing and environmental health, planning, community safety and homelessness services.
The budget includes a 2.7 per cent increase in council tax which will see a Band D household paying an additional £5.22 – the equivalent to around 10p extra a week.
To ensure the council can maximise the money available further work will be done to identify investment opportunities, including the use of overnight money markets, and areas where streamlining can make services run more efficiently.
Councillor Ashan Jeeawon, the district council’s portfolio holder for finance and performance management, said: “Considerable levels of inflation and soaring energy costs have presented us a real challenge in setting our budget for 2023/24.
“But the decisions we have taken put us in a strong position to deal with the financial challenges we know that local authorities will continue to face this year and beyond.
“Asking our residents to pay more council tax is not something we do lightly, but not doing so could mean significant cuts to services that people rely upon and would have affect our ability to deliver those services in future years.”
To meet the coming year’s costs, members agreed to use £2.035 million from reserves to support the revenue, with a plan to reduce this amount by targeting areas of the budget where efficiency savings can be made and where external grants can be secured.
Full Council heard how match-funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to buy temporary accommodation for homeless households will have a long-term benefit with the council having to spend less money in future years to support vulnerable residents.
As part of the council’s extensive Financial Stability Programme, devolution of certain services to town and parish councils will also result in long-term savings for Rother District Council and protect important local services.
Councillor Jeeawon added: “With almost 80 per cent of council tax income paying for our waste and cleansing contract, it is vital that we make every penny go as far as we can.”
As part of their discussions, councillors also agreed the Council Tax Reduction scheme will remain unchanged in the new financial year and will offer support to those struggling to pay.
