REDDITCH Borough Council has written off £452,000 in outstanding debts which it has been unable to collect.
The amount, which consists of unpaid rent, council tax and business rates was written off at the executive committee meeting on Tuesday (June 7).
In a report members heard that in many cases the amount owing was due to the death of a homeowner or tenant or if a firm had gone under owing business rates.
However, the council had budgeted to write off £2.5million and the leader of the council, Coun Bill Harntett, (Lab, Church Hill) said the actual amount was ‘a drop in the ocean’ compared to what they receive from residents in Redditch.
Coun Hartnett Added: “The expected bad debt was somewhat pessimistic but £452,000 still sounds like a lot of money.
“We need to put this in perspective of what the council actually receives in council tax and rent and so on.
“The reports on the debt were accepted but we have not closed them yet.”
Leader of the Conservative Group Coun Juliet Brunner, (Con, M’boro) said: “There appears to be no timetable for write-offs and it comes to a point where you have to say enough is enough, and I have asked the Audit and Governance Committee to look into it this.”
