Council Tax

[Suff]

Between the central and local government living taxes, we pay close to €4,000 per year.

Granted we have two houses combined into one, are paying for 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and two toilets and a fair chunk of garden.

But cheap it isn't.

We have one bus service 3 days a week, 3 times a day, but we do have mains sewage and water.

[Workingman]

When I look at the council's A-Z of services it is an amazing list and I am not sure all of them are needed, but there they are.

The number of services leads to over staffing and that leads to more tiers of supervision and management, which then leads to the justification of the salaries from the middle and up to the top.

Then there's the inefficiency.... a driver, someone to put the cones out, someone to shovel some grit off the wagon, another to put it in the hole, another to tamp it down, and another to supervise the team.

And don't get me started on council house rents.

There are loads of ways for councils to cut their cloth without all the huge tax increases.

[Kaz]

Ours is similar to yours Jo, except we've been paying extra for garden waste for years

[victor]

WM you forgot to include the4men who stand around watching and the one with the White hard hat who is in charge

[cruiser2]

Our council tax this year is £116 per month.
At the moment we have four bins, blue for paper, brown for cans and glass and plastic containers, green for food waste and garden waste and black for anything else.
Can take other rubbish to the tip which is free at the moment. Have toput the bins out the evening before as ours are usually emptoed soon after 7.00 a.m.

There is a lot of house building both near the town center on brown sites. One was the old cattle market and has been derelict for many years.

There is new developments on green field sites with about 500 houses. This will add to traffic congestion at the junctions with two main roads.
It has been a labour council for many years and I don't think it will ever change.
Our MP has put herself forward o be the nre Labour leader.