Agenda item

(a)       That the 2019-20 Council Tax be set as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report;

(b)       That the continuation of the policy of not providing a discount in the level of Council Tax charges for second homes and long-term empty homes be endorsed.  Also where exceptions do not apply, to charge the Council Tax Premium rate of 50% above the standard rate of Council Tax for second homes and long-term empty dwellings; and

(c)       That approval be given for designated officers to issue legal proceedings and appear on behalf of the Council in the Magistrates’ Court for unpaid taxes.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer introduced the report to formally set the Council Tax charges and associated statutory resolutions for 2019/20 as part of the wider budget strategy on the basis of the decision taken by the Council on 19 February.

The Revenues Manager spoke about the three separate precepts which made up the overall level of Council Tax charges against each property.  He advised that the proposed increase in Flintshire’s precept was 8.75% (resulting in a charge of £1,280.68 for a Band D property; an annual increase of £103.08).  A 7.74% increase was reported on the precept for the Police & Crime Commissioner for North Wales, and the individual precept requirements for the 34 Town and Community Councils across Flintshire (total increase 2.13%) were appended to the report.  The overall amount raised by Council Tax consisted of the County Council’s total precept of £82,369.496, the North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner’s total precept of £17,886,558 and collective precept of £2,929,690 across Town and Community Councils.

In accordance with other procedural matters, Members were asked to endorse the continuation of the Council Tax Premium scheme and the practice for designated officers to lead on legal proceedings on behalf of the Council.

The Chief Executive explained that the resolution was to formally set the Council Tax following closure of the budget process for 2019/20 at the previous meeting.  The prescribed figures would be set out in Council Tax bills along with payment instalment options.  Due to the statutory limitations on information contained on Council Tax bills, this year they would be accompanied by a budget infographic explaining how the total amount was made up.

In moving the recommendations, Councillor Aaron Shotton referred to the lengthy budget debate which had resulted in a difficult decision, recognising the need to protect services and consider the future impact of austerity.  He welcomed the infographic of factual information produced by officers and encouraged Members to share this to help understanding of the situation.

This was seconded by Councillor Bernie Attridge.

Councillor Mike Peers said that the proposed increase in Council Tax was not supported by all Members and that the amount spent to recover outstanding debt could have been better used towards the shortfall in funding.  On the report’s third recommendation, he spoke about the level of unpaid Council Tax which had been reported to Overview & Scrutiny and asked about actions to improve collection rates.

The Chief Executive clarified that debt was capital borrowing debt only and that a report on Council Tax collection would be scheduled for the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Richard Jones said that the report provided more detail on the impact of the budget decision and that every valuation band would be set at over £1,000 per year, particularly affecting those with lower incomes.  He commented that the proposed 8.75% increase for the Council’s precept was the highest set by Flintshire and amongst the highest in Wales for 2019/20.  He went on to refer to the scale of the increase over the past seven years which he suggested was attributable to a reduced Revenue Support Grant and also through the approach taken by the Administration to use Council Tax as a means of balancing the budget.

In response, the Chief Executive said that four other Councils in Wales were proposing Council Tax increases of over 9%.  He reminded Members of their legal duty to formally set the Council Tax by the approaching statutory deadline.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that the Council should set the Council Tax at the level to reflect the decision made at the previous meeting.

Councillor Clive Carver commented that Council Tax increases were not in line with pay or pension increases.

Councillor Patrick Heesom said that the alternative Motion put forward at the previous meeting would have been more manageable.  He said that the Council Tax increase was being used to fill the budget gap and that a review was needed of the Council’s financial strategy to prevent a similar situation next year.

Councillor Arnold Woolley read out an extract from a Wales Audit Office letter on a recommended prudent approach to the Minimum Revenue Provision policy on which he raised concerns.

Councillor Derek Butler spoke of the need to make decisions based on fact and that a range of opportunities had been available throughout the budget process for Members to raise specific issues.

Councillor Chris Bithell said that Members had a duty to make decisions based on the professional advice of qualified expert officers, including statutory officers.  It was on that basis that the proposed increase in Council Tax had been supported, as opposed to the amendment where increased reliance on reserves would have been too much of a risk.

In response to comments on the Well-being and Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, Councillor Carolyn Thomas said that unlike some other Authorities, the Council had not proposed cutting services and was instead building Council houses and exploring innovative ways of attracting funding.  She pointed out that the average Council Tax paid in England was £1,700 per annum with some Authorities proposing increases to £2,000.  This demonstrated that the UK Government was not adequately funding Council services.

For 2020/21, the Corporate Finance Manager advised that with the use of £0.300m of reserves, a budget gap of £9.7m had been calculated, based on projected pressures and without any assumptions on Council Tax or Revenue Support Grant.

Councillor Carol Ellis said that the increase was difficult to justify to residents given the increases proposed by neighbouring Authorities and would have a significant impact on all property owners.  The Chief Executive said that Band D was commonly used for illustrative purposes across Wales, acknowledging the differences between bandings.

In recognising the difficult decision which had been made, Councillor Ian Roberts said that the advice of statutory officers must be heard.  He said that the projected budget gap for 2020/21 would have increased if Members had agreed to allocate further reserves.  As one of a number of significant pressures, he highlighted the increase in teachers’ pensions which would affect every school.

In his right of reply, Councillor Aaron Shotton spoke about the need to recognise the work undertaken by the officers, workforce, Trade Union colleagues and Overview & Scrutiny Committees to respond to the challenges of austerity and protect services, which set Flintshire apart from many other Authorities.  He said that the point raised on borrowing did not reflect the investment in school buildings and Council house building programme, and that further use of reserves only increased financial pressures for the next year, as acknowledged by the Wales Audit Office.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer said that any decision against setting the Council Tax would be in conflict with the six month rule on the decision taken on 19 February resulting in the Council failing to comply with its legal duty.

As a point of clarity, the Chief Executive provided technical advice on the risks to any delay in Council Tax setting, with resource and cashflow implications as well as the impact on residents.

Councillor Peers requested a recorded vote to which the requisite 10 Members stood in support.

On being put to the vote, the recommendations in the report were carried as follows:

For the proposal:

Councillor: Paul Cunningham, Bernie Attridge, Glyn Banks, Sean Bibby, Chris Bithell, Derek Butler, Geoff Collett, David Cox, Ron Davies, Ian Dunbar, Andy Dunbobbin, Mared Eastwood, David Evans, David Healey, Gladys Healey, Cindy Hinds, Dave Hughes, Kevin Hughes, Ray Hughes, Joe Johnson, Paul Johnson, Christine Jones, Tudor Jones, Richard Lloyd, Billy Mullin, Michelle Perfect, Vicky Perfect, Neville Phillips, Mike Reece, Ian Roberts, Aaron Shotton, Paul Shotton, Ian Smith, Carolyn Thomas, Martin White, Andy Williams and David Wisinger

Against the proposal:

Councillor: Mike Allport, Janet Axworthy, Haydn Bateman, Marion Bateman, Helen Brown, Clive Carver, Bob Connah, Jean Davies, Rob Davies, Chris Dolphin, Rosetta Dolphin, Carol Ellis, George Hardcastle, Patrick Heesom, Dennis Hutchinson, Richard Jones, Brian Lloyd, Dave Mackie, Mike Peers, Ralph Small, Owen Thomas and Arnold Woolley

Abstention:

Councillor Colin Legg

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the 2019-20 Council Tax be set as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report;

(b)       That the continuation of the policy of not providing a discount in the level of Council Tax charges for second homes and long-term empty homes be endorsed.  Also where exceptions do not apply, to charge the Council Tax Premium rate of 50% above the standard rate of Council Tax for second homes and long-term empty dwellings; and

(c)       That approval be given for designated officers to issue legal proceedings and appear on behalf of the Council in the Magistrates’ Court for unpaid taxes.