Council thanks residents for paying-up

WARRINGTON residents are “extremely good” council tax payers – and the borough council has thanked them for it.
The council’s audit committee has written off less than £483,000 in irrecoverable council tax debt – less than 0.2 per cent of the council’s income.
Chief finance officer Lynton Green said: ““Everyone knows money’s tight, and we feel it’s a great credit to our residents that the vast majority of them pay their council tax in full and on time.
“The council has recently shown how we’ve managed to save £50 million through innovation and better organisation in the face of government funding cuts. But we remain dependent on residents paying their council tax if we’re to keep providing the standards of service which people in Warrington expect.”
Every year, the amounts to be collected by the council include £86 million in council tax, £108 million in business rates, £58 million in miscellaneous income and £2 million in housing benefit overpayments.
Mr Green said: “The council aims for 100 per cent recovery of all debts, but realistically there will always be some that become irrecoverable. It may be because the person owing the debt has passed away, or has left the borough without trace, or because the debt is negligible and it is uneconomic for the council to continue trying to recover it.”
Mr Green also praised the diligence of council tax officers.
“Their collection performance is extremely good,” he said. “We don’t give up trying to collect tax until we consider that all avenues of recovery have been exhausted.
“But the main point is that people pay their council tax in full and on time, and most Warrington residents continue to do that.”