Anger as town council tax bill rises by 90 per cent

HARD-PRESSED families have reacted furiously to news their council tax bills will increase after Uttoxeter Town Council agreed a 90 per cent increase in its annual budget.

The High Street authority last week set its precept at £398,491 for 2010/11 – compared to £208,984 for the current financial year.

Councillors say the rise is necessary after learning the true picture of the authority's debt.

It means householders living in an average band D property will have to find an extra £1-a-week to cover the increase.

Shoppers this week described the rise as "disgusting" and said they were already struggling to pay bills.

Adrian Brennan, aged 33, of Stafford Road, Uttoxeter, said: "The town council is in a complete mess. If I ran my finances like that, I would be bankrupt. They have dug this big hole and they should get out of it and not expect us to bail them out."

Marion Slater, aged 68, of New Street, Uttoxeter, said: "It's totally out of order. If the council had run their affairs properly, this wouldn't have happened."

Mandy Blackshaw, who helps run C & M Computers, said the town council was in the best position to know how hard Uttoxeter had been hit by the recession.

She said: "What they're doing is wrong in the current financial climate and with all the job losses at JCB. I'm fuming."

Mother-of-two Jane Hardisty, aged 41, a mobile hairdresser, of Holly Road, Uttoxeter, said: "We already pay a lot because of where we live. It's wrong these rises have been allowed."

Mike Green, aged 54, of New Road, Uttoxeter, said: "I am sick and tired of my bills going up all the time. What do we get from the town council other than bills? What do they provide? I think they need to take a look at staffing levels and the cost of wages."

Rose Edwards said voters would not forget the rise before the next elections.

The 68-year-old, of High Street, Uttoxeter, said: "I'm a pensioner and every penny counts. It's disgusting that things have got this bad. Roll on the next election so we can get rid of them."

The increase in the budget has been blamed on the authority needing to cover costs such as the repayment of a £33,000 VAT overspend and the £10,000 cost of a damning Audit Commission investigation.

Uttoxeter mayor, Howard Grigg, attempted to appease constituents by promising the tax rise would be only for one year.

He said: "Nobody is happy with the precept but at the end of the day we have to abide with what the Audit Commission told us to do.

"I know full well that the precept will be halved by next year. The increase is for one year only – that's fact, not fiction."

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