Bournemouth Council set its budget and council tax at a special meeting last night. The Lib Dem Council's budget for the next year has increased by 7.6% - more than 3 times the rate of inflation.

The rise in council tax is 4.5% - down from the 14.1% increase which it would have been without some special windfalls this year and additional government funding.

Obviously the Labour government have been very keen to avoid large increases in council tax in an election year and have helped to keep the rise below the 5% level, over which the Council risked being capped. As a matter of record, council tax has risen nationally by 70% since Labour came to power in 1997.

The Leader of the Conservative Group on Bournemouth Council voted against the Lib Dem budget. Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin said, 'The increase in council tax in Bournemouth this year is lower than in previous years due to the Labour government's fiddled funding rather than the proper management of the Council's finances by the Lib Dems.' He continued, 'The Lib Dems have got their priorities wrong. They are spending over £1 million on another management reorganisation and increased bureaucracy. At the same time they have left the town's CCTV system without vital investment and are failing to properly protect the people of Bournemouth. Community safety is supposed to be one of their top priorities.'

Close scrutiny of the budget by the Conservatives exposed spending plans by the Lib Dems on PR and political spin which has now been cut out at the last minute.

The Conservatives have very real concerns about the sustainability of parts of the Lib Dem budget and are seriously worried that it may not balance at the end of the year in spring 2006. Council Officers have also identified a number of high risks in the budget which amount to over £5 million and the Conservatives will be watching these very closely to see that budgets are contained throughout the year. The Lib Dems also need to make substantial savings over the next 2 years to keep their promises and many of these will result in serious cuts in services for the residents of Bournemouth.

The Lib Dems continue to smear the Conservative record for increases in council tax on which the Lib Dems now rely in order to balance their own budgets. It is high time they took full responsibility for finding the efficiency savings on which their budget depends to ensure that vital front line services such as cleaner streets and the control of anti-social behaviour really do become Bournemouth Council's service priorities as they were under the Conservatives.

For further details please contact:-

Cllr John Beesley
Bournemouth Conservatives
on Bournemouth Council

Tel. 01202 762403
Mobile 07860 391219
email john.beesley@bournemouth.gov.uk