Central Bedfordshire named as the only council to freeze Council Tax
Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Research undertaken by the County Councils Network shows that we're the only upper tier council proposing to not raise Council Tax next year.
Councillor David Shelvey, our Executive Member for Corporate Resources, explains how we've achieved this:
We are all very aware of the financial pressures our residents are under as inflation and the cost of living continues to rise. Even though our running costs have also risen and demand for our adult social care and children’s services increases, careful budget management over several years means it is possible for us to avoid a Council Tax increase next year.
We had already budgeted for an increase in inflation and we’re making efficiencies to reduce our operating costs so that some of the pressure can be absorbed. We have also used some reserves put aside in previous years to help balance the budget so that we don’t need to ask our residents to pay more.
This year in particular, we are extremely mindful that our residents are facing rising costs of living and we’re pleased to be able to propose a budget that protects our services and we do not need to raise our share of Council Tax next year.