Council Tax 2008/2009 - Page 3

andrewb · 08-06-2008, 23:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Do you know I sometimes despair when I read your posts. It has been pointed out that HBC have had numerous grants which should have avoided these big rises in council tax. So why has it gone up by 31.8%?? The fact that it has been less than the increase in wages is neither here nor there because besides council tax everything else has gone up. So the 4.2% extra on wage increases that is over and above the increase in council tax has already been eaten up by the price of other things rising. It is time you entered the real world and admitted that HBC are making a mess of things and wasting money

Bernadette a lot of councils have grants, it is not just HBC, yet the vast majority of councils have had higher tax increases than we have. There is no doubt that food, fuel, stealth taxes, everything is going up an awful lot, but you can't blame HBC for that can you? Nobody likes the council taxing them, but services do not run themselves. The national gap between wage increases and council tax is 50%! Can you not give HBC a bit of credit for keeping it nowhere near that?

BERNADETTE · 08-06-2008, 23:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewb

Bernadette a lot of councils have grants, it is not just HBC, yet the vast majority of councils have had higher tax increases than we have. There is no doubt that food, fuel, stealth taxes, everything is going up an awful lot, but you can't blame HBC for that can you? Nobody likes the council taxing them, but services do not run themselves. The national gap between wage increases and council tax is 50%! Can you not give HBC a bit of credit for keeping it nowhere near that?

I will give credit where it is due and in this case I don't think it is. I would not have been aware of all the grants that HBC have had if it weren't for this thread and feel that if the money had been used correctly the increases would have been less. The service we get is not improving so don't see how these big increases can be justified.

claytonender · 08-06-2008, 23:50

The median hourly rate for full time workers in 1999 was £6.94 and in 2007 was £9.16 an increase of £2.22 or 31.98%.

Do you not find it disturbing that Hyndburn that median annual earnings (for workers) in Hyndburn in 2007 was only £15282 (which is over £1000 less than the next lowest authority in East Lancashire -Rossendale) and that it had actually fallen from £17698 in 2005 and £15551 in 2006.

garinda · 08-06-2008, 23:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

I will give credit where it is due and in this case I don't think it is. I would not have been aware of all the grants that HBC have had if it weren't for this thread and feel that if the money had been used correctly the increases would have been less. The service we get is not improving so don't see how these big increases can be justified.

Let's not forget the £700,000.00 which was granted to Hyndburn Borough Council to set up a community website, and which through a mixture of incompetence and apathy, they totally wasted.

claytonender · 09-06-2008, 00:01

The median hourly rate for all workers in 1999 was £6.50 and in 2007 was £7.97 an increase of £1.47 or 22.62 %, which is considerably less than the 31.8% increase in council tax that you are quoting for the same period. In 2004 the hourly rate was £7.96 2005 it was £8.01 and in 2006 it was £7.84. So in from 2004 to 2007 it only rose by £0.01 or 0%.

cashman · 09-06-2008, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Let's not forget the £700,000.00 which was granted to Hyndburn Borough Council to set up a community website, and which through a mixture of incompetence and apathy, they totally wasted.

now now rindy,thats being selective......................................... ..............................like cyfr.

BERNADETTE · 09-06-2008, 00:03

So all in all we have nothing to be grateful for, in fact it is disgraceful

BERNADETTE · 09-06-2008, 00:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

now now rindy,thats being selective......................................... ..............................like cyfr.

It is being honest about the money that has been wasted

garinda · 09-06-2008, 00:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

now now rindy,thats being selective......................................... ..............................like cyfr.

No, just an example of a grant that was given to them, a grant made up of our money, and which was totally wasted.

If an employee had been responsible for such a gross mismanagement of money they would have been sacked, or if they were a business they would soon be shut.

cashman · 09-06-2008, 00:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

No, just an example of a grant that was given to them, a grant made up of our money, and which was totally wasted.

If an employee had been responsible for such a gross mismanagement of money they would have been sacked, or if they were a business they would soon be shut.

we all know that,but some can't seem to accept it.

garinda · 09-06-2008, 00:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

we all know that,but some can't seem to accept it.

Perhaps they didn't even want a community website, as apparently Tony Dobson, currently being fingered as the Conservative candidate come the next General Election, doesn't have access to a computer, and Peter Britcliffe doesn't really feel able to communicate with us this way.

It's all making sense now.

cashman · 09-06-2008, 00:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Perhaps they didn't even want a community website, as apparently Tony Dobson, currently being fingered as the Conservative candidate come the next General Election, doesn't have access to a computer, and Peter Britcliffe doesn't really feel able to communicate with us this way.

It's all making sense now.

yeh might just have hit the nail there.

steeljack · 09-06-2008, 00:50

just curious as an non-partisan outsider , according to earlier posts LCC takes 82 % of the council tax , leaving 18% for diving up by HBC the local council .
now a couple of questions .....

1. is this a fixed ratio 82 to 18 or does it fluctuate ?
2 . is there a breakdown of % increases by the LCC and HBC (who is demanding a bigger slice of the pie ?)
3 . Do the tax bills show where the increases have gone ?

Seems to me , and just an observation , the guys on the front line (local councillors ) are being used as whipping boys by their LCC colleagues who are responsible for devouring the bigger part of the pie

andrewb · 09-06-2008, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Let's not forget the £700,000.00 which was granted to Hyndburn Borough Council to set up a community website, and which through a mixture of incompetence and apathy, they totally wasted.

It was £100,000 less, not that it makes a difference but lets get some accuracy. Where is the report of them wasting it? It looks online to me.

andrewb · 09-06-2008, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Perhaps they didn't even want a community website, as apparently Tony Dobson, currently being fingered as the Conservative candidate come the next General Election, doesn't have access to a computer, and Peter Britcliffe doesn't really feel able to communicate with us this way.

It's all making sense now.

Councillor Peter Britcliffe:
106 New Lane
Oswaldtwistle
BB5 3QW

or

01254 381 147

or

[email protected]

and

Councillor Tony Dobson:
Rosedene Barn
The Bridleway
Off New Lane
Oswaldtwistle
BB5 3QL

or

07774 470 870

or

[email protected]

Feel free if there's something you desperately need to ask them. I have no idea why you're only mentioning Conservative councillors though. Greg Pope has had the facility to use online surgeries through Hyndburn Life and it was very successful when he did.