Budget Matters

Yesterday at full Council, Oxfordshire County Council set its budget for the next four years. This year's increase in council tax will be 3.75% which amounts to a cost of £1,130 per annum for Band D properties. Liberal Democrats in Opposition put forward an alternative budget which, for the same council tax rise, would have spent more on children and young people, social services and the environment. We would have re-introduced a general weed control budget and in future years would be spending additonal money on highways maintenance. In our capital programme we wished to redirect investment into a new youth centre for Grove and Wantage, which has been put on the back burner by the current administration.

To pay for some of this we would not appoint a new post of Communications and Marketing and reduce the amount of glossy Council publications. We feel the Council is building a huge corporate empire to market itself rather than concentrating on front line services. However, after a full day of debate with all the budget presentations on offer including the minority Labour and Green groups, it was the ruling Conservative budget which was agreed. No surprises there, but a missed opportunity to put more into those services which people rely on.

The County Council takes the lion's share of the council tax, with Thames Valley Police, the district and the parish councils making up the rest.