Council set to approve £145m budget

TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington will be asked on Monday to approve a budget of £145.453 million – requiring a 1.98 per cent increase in the average Band D Council Tax to £1.182.09.
Cheshire Police and Fire and Rescue budgets will not have been formally approved by then – but it is expected Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer will freeze the police element of the Council Tax and that the Fire and Rescue budget will rise by 1.99 per cent.
This would mean Council Tax on a Band D property in an unparished area of Warrington will be £1,403.05.
The 17 parish councils across the borough are to levy precepts ranging from £94.30 at Birchwood to £7.62 at Woolston – meaning residents of Birchwood are likely to face the highest Band D Council Tax in the borough at £1,497.35.
Highest council tax in the borough is likely to be for a Band H property at Birchwood which will be £2,994.71.
It is expected further 1.98 per cent increases will be required for each of the next four years.
In a report to the borough council’s executive board, Cllr Russ Bowden (pictured) lead member for corporate resources and assignments, said the formulation of the budget had been influenced by the continuation of major cuts national Government had imposed on local government since the 2010 spending review.
In the provisional settlement announced on December 18, Warrington’s government funding had fallen by a further 9.4 per cent .
“This equates to a drop in Government funding of £6.5 million, which is equivalent to £32 per Warrington resident.”
The council had already made savings of £14.1m and £13.9m in 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively but had an additional £49.9m of savings would be needed over the next four years, with £16.2m required this year.