A NUMBER of price increases in fees and charges have been agreed by the Borough Council’s executive committee – although many are showing no increase at all or only going up by the rate of inflation.
Finance portfolio holder Councillor David Thain said the Conservative-controlled authority was not only showing financial prudence but would shortly balance the books.
However he added that council recognised that people were struggling in the current coronavirus pandemic.
“There is a compassionate side which every local authority has to show,” he said.
“By not increasing our fees and charges we are trying to show we do empathise with people and businesses.”
Members heard the aim was to take the council into a position where it was no longer subsidising services and that in those areas where charges due an increase had been held the savings would have to be found internally.
Despite this some charges will go up.
There’s an extra 50p on the current £8.50 for the council’s bulky waste collection service, a 5.8 per cent increase that sparked fears from Labour that it might lead to more flytipping in the borough.
Council tenants will also see inflation or above inflation increases for things like unblocking sinks or replacing plugs.
And anyone thinking of asking the Borough Council to photocopy an A1 or A2 sized document should perhaps think twice.
The cost is about to rocket by more than 700 per cent.
Currently the authority charges 60p for a black and white copy of an A2 document, but that’s set to rise by 733 per cent to £5.
For an A1 copy, again in black and white, the price is currently £1.10 but that will rise by 536 per cent to £7.
For colour documents the rate is ‘variable’.
Proposed by Coun Thain and seconded by Council Leader Coun Matt Dormer, the new fees and charges were approved by seven votes to two with Labour’s Coun Bill Hartnett and Greg Chance voting against.
