Cheshire East Council agrees 4.99% council tax rise

Cheshire East Council has signed off its budget which includes a 4.99% council tax increase.

It comes after the authority was awarded up to £35m in exceptional financial support from central goverment - which is where a council is allowed to use borrowing to fund its day-to-day spending.

As part of the approved budget, the authority is set to use about £25m of that figure.

The budget was narrowly passed with 40 councillors voting for it, 38 against while three abstained.

It is the third year in a row that the authority has used exceptional financial support to balance its books.

Exceptional financial support is not extra funding - but it allows councils to treat some day-to-day spending as longer term capital spending, which is usually funded through borrowing.

Labour councillor Dawn Clark, who proposed the budget, said it was "robust" while seconder, independent Garnet Marshall, said he was "100% confident" in the budget.

Conservative councillor Sally Holland described the budget as "firefighting" and said the exceptional financial support was "an expensive overdraft".

Fellow Conservative Janet Clowes highlighted the council is still under a best value notice from the government, which is in force until May.

Independent councillor John Bird said the authority needed to change.

He said if the council takes this seriously, the budget becomes deliverable but if not it "becomes a document of aspiration instead of action".

The Conservatives put forward a budget amendment including cutting ward member budgets used for highways schemes, reducing members' allowances and increasing a proposed 5% staff vacancy rate across the council to 10%.

It was rejected.

Conservative Liz Wardlaw said the amendment had been made in "good faith".

Fellow Conservative Janet Clowes said the council should try to make savings "no matter how small" and that the administration should "welcome every little thing we bring forward".

Councillor Rob Vernon of the Labour group said the proposals put forward by the Conservatives were "disappointing" and were "not deliverable".

Independent Craig Browne said the amendment was "largely just a selection of statements for nothing, rather than an alternative budget".

The authority also supported recommendations on the establishment of its new cabinet and leader structure which is coming into force in May, as well as approving its calendar of meetings for the next financial year, pay policy, and political make-up of committees.

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