What’s the expected council tax increase in your local authority area this year?

Here in Powys, it’s 9.5 per cent – a huge amount. And we’re to expect a reduction in public services.

The people of Redditch may be considered luckier – their increase is expected to be 2.2 per cent.

But it seems the borough council’s new Conservative administration is determined to take it all for themselves.

They have voted themselves a pay increase of more than 300 per cent, for those with “special responsibilities”.

Apparently they never had the chance to screw so much cash out of their electorate before – until last May, the borough was controlled by Labour, whose councillors froze their allowances for 10 years.

That’s responsible public service. What a shame the electorate turned its back on it and voted in the Tories instead.

Perhaps people thought the change would do them good. Now they know otherwise – or they will, as soon as the changes come into effect.

The current Labour councillors voted against the allowance increases when the Tories proposed them, too.

Redditch has one of the highest levels of homelessness and food bank use in the West Midlands; one in every 1,007 people is homeless there, according to Shelter.

And the average council tax bill is now £1,823 – it rose by 4.3 per cent last year.

The council’s new leader, Matt Dormer, currently receives £8,257 for being council leader with a special portfolio.

From April, he’ll pocket nearly £20,000 – an increase of nearly 150 per cent – if he keeps that portfolio.

So the equivalent of council tax for 10 households will go to support Cllr Dormer alone.

And there are 29 councillors in the borough.

Oh – they’ve pledged to spend an extra £140,000 on services for homeless people.

That’s £1,667 for each of the 84 people said to be homeless in the borough. Not enough to support them – and a tiny fraction of the pay increase these Tories will enjoy.

But that’s Conservatives for you. They absolutely refuse to serve the public and see elected office as a chance to serve only themselves.

Source: Tory councillors give themselves 300% pay hikes in homelessness hotspot – Mirror Online

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