Council Tax freeze approved by Scottish Borders Council
Thursday, February 14 2008
Scottish Borders Council Administration’s budget proposals for 2008/2009 - including no increase in council tax - were unanimously approved at a meeting of the full Council this morning (February 14).
The Administration was committed to minimising the rise in council tax and has gone a step further by freezing it.
The Council’s budget will rise to £249 million. There will be a significant investment in frontline services, including a drive to tackle the problem of litter on our streets and to push up recycling rates across the Borders.
Vulnerable adults and children will benefit from greater investment.
Leader of the Council, Councillor David Parker, said: “I’m delighted that the full Council has accepted the Administration’s proposals.
It was a challenging task to manage this tight settlement, but I’m very pleased that we are able to freeze council tax and leave the Council’s reserves untouched. Borders residents will, I’m sure, appreciate the increased resources going into frontline services.”
Depute Leader Alex Nicol commented: “This has been a carefully thought-out budget and we have given consideration to the predicted rise in the population of the Borders – hence the added investment in schools and in services for the elderly. This budget contains good news for a lot of people.
“The Council’s budget is based very firmly on our Bright Future for the Borders manifesto. We’re on track to deliver our manifesto commitments and in some cases we have already exceeded our targets.”
Depute Leader Neil Calvert added: “Everyone involved in setting this budget has worked hard. We have come up with a good plan to maintain and improve our services, while making efficiency savings of £4.4 million, which will be re-invested in our services.
“Above all, this Council has delivered a budget that is prudent, affordable and sustainable.”
An amendment by Councillor Catriona Bhatia, calling on the Scottish Government to re-trunk the A7 north of Galashiels and the A72 and to put sufficient investments into the roads was unanimously approved.
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