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County council agrees budget with 1.99% council tax increase

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Dorset County Council will increase its share of the council tax by just under two per cent next year to help protect vital services to the county’s communities.

Robert GouldWithout an increase the council would need to find further savings on top of the £15m already needed in 2015-6. A drop in the main grant the council receives from central government, as well as reductions in other specific grants, means that the council will need continue to find significant savings in coming years. This is on top of savings amounting to £60m which have already been taken out in recent years.

The council’s Forward Together Transformation programme has identified savings of £14.7m for 2015-6 and the shortfall of £532,000 will be funded from the collection fund surplus.

Council Leader Robert Gould said: “There continue to be tough choices to be made as we strive to deliver the services that our residents tell us they value with ever reducing funding. The budget I have set out today is challenging but we are ambitious and optimistic for the future. The drive for efficiency must continue. It is also important that we work closely with all of our public service partners in Dorset to make public funds go further.”

One example of working with partners is the local authority trading company being set up in the summer by Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole to deliver a range of adult social care services.

Cllr Gould explained that it was no longer prudent to accept the council tax freeze grant that enables councils not to increase the tax, saying that it was made available “at the whim of government”.

He added: “I believe this modest increase in council tax is an acceptable way to avoid a further £1.8 million cut in the base budget. If we are to realise our vision for more independent local government, we need to raise more of our own income locally.”

Cllr Gould also outlined plans for capital spending, which include £2m towards road repairs, the top priority for local people in the Ask Dorset consultation last year.

The council also heard in December that its transport funding allocation is £2m better than expected and there is also additional funding, via the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership, of £19.8m for improvements to the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road and £16m for schemes around Bournemouth Airport.

And Cllr Gould described how the county council is changing the way it works, supported by better technology, to make better use of its buildings and release those it no longer needs to save on running costs.

Cllr Gould said: “Sound finances are the essential foundation to delivering our vision. But they are not all that we are about. My view is that great opportunities for Dorset lie ahead.”

This includes support a vibrant and healthy local economy, including the roll-out of superfast broadband, which is now available to over 24,000 homes and businesses with a target of 80,000 in 2015-6.

The council will also be supporting local schemes in communities by continuing to fund member budgets, giving each councillor £5,000 to allocate to initiatives in their patch.

The budget and the council tax rise were supported by all political groups.


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