Bill for borough services to rise by £7 a year
New council tax rates to fund Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council services were agreed by councillors last night [20 February].
Members voted to set the bill for waste collection, recycling, planning, parks, leisure and other borough services at an average of £4.58 a week for a Band D home. The annual bill will be £238.16, an increase of £6.93 (3 per cent) on the current year.
Council tax also funds services provided by Kent County Council, such as education, highways and social care, the costs of which account for around 70 per cent of bills. In addition, it funds Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and parish and town councils.
The combined bill for an average Band D household in Tonbridge and Malling from April 2024 will be made up as follows:
Kent County Council £1,610.82 (+4.99%)
Tonbridge and Malling BC £238.16 (+3%)
Kent Police £256.15 (+5.35%)
Kent Fire and Rescue £89.91 (+2.99)
Parish/town councils (av) £71.11 (+0.44%)
Total: £2,266.15 (+4.59%)
Tonbridge and Malling’s income from council tax for the year from April 2024 is forecast to be £12.7m, up from £12.2m last year. The council’s medium term financial strategy is addressing a forecast funding gap of £1.7m over the next four years. Savings and efficiencies in the current year totalled £195,000 with a further £305,000 planned for the next financial year.
Council tax income money ensures delivery of a range of services, including:
- Collecting waste from 100,000 bins each week (nearly half of which is recycled)
- Processing more than 2,600 planning applications
- Operating 43 car parks
- Managing 400 areas of public open space
- Licensing more than 1,200 local businesses
- Inspecting more than 500 food outlets annually
Cllr Kim Tanner, the council’s cabinet member responsible for finance, said: ‘We’ve worked hard over the last year to innovate, be more efficient and absorb rising costs so we can keep the increase in council tax to a minimum.
‘The widely reported problems facing many local authorities have highlighted the importance of strong financial governance and prudent decision making. Unlike many of our counterparts up down the country we are debt free and in a good position to invest in both core services and schemes to deliver improvements for our residents.’