Full Council agreed the Council's budget for 2008/09 at its
annual budget meeting on 28 February 2008. The approved budget
pegged Suffolk Coastal's Council Tax increase to 3.9
per cent, equivalent to an increase of only 10 pence a week for the
average band D house.
The Council's charge for a band D home for 2008/09 is £141.21,
an annual increase of £5.31.
This is the 12th year in a row that Suffolk
Coastal has kept to single digit Council Tax increase, meaning
that the Council continues to have one of the lowest Council Taxes
in the country.
Follow this link to read the
Leader of the Council's budget statement (new
window PDF 361KB).
You can find out where your Council Tax goes and how
Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council and
Suffolk Police Authority spend their budgets in the
Council Tax and financial information booklet
(new window PDF 854KB).
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF files.
The budget for 2008/09
The budget sees the net expenditure of the Council increase by
3.5 per cent to £14.93 million a year, after £1.6m worth of savings
and additional income have been generated.
The Council’s expenditure for 2008/09 includes external
factors outside of its control such as pay and price increases
leading to £647,000 additional costs, and a further rise of
£116,000 in the cost of the new national free bus pass for over 60s
and disabled people. Against these increases, the Government’s
grant to the Council will rise by only 2.86 per cent or an extra
£221,000.
Among the savings identified in the budget are income or
efficiencies generated from recycling and refuse collection,
increased productivity by using better and more efficient
equipment in ground maintenance, closure of the Melton Hill cash
office, the reintroduction of in-house IT services, and changes to
car park charges.
The budget also provides for investment and improvements to the
Council's priority services so it can, for example, provide an
improved recycling service to another 13,000 homes, improve
community safety, promote the regeneration of Felixstowe, and work
for better quality of life across the district in partnership with
the Suffolk Coastal Local Strategic Partnership (new
window).
The
2008/09 budget book (new window PDF 1.06MB)
gives a detailed analysis of the Council's spending plans.
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF files.
The budget timetable
The budget process goes through a number of stages up to the
annual budget meeting of the full Council in February:
- The Council’s Policy and Development Task Group help the
Cabinet develop policy on emerging issues and assess likely
impacts. The Council’s scrutiny committees carry out thorough
reviews of the budget and pass their thoughts and recommendations
to the Cabinet.
- All employees are asked for their views on how services can be
made more efficient, how we can improve the way we work to become
more efficient, and where additional income can be brought in or
service improvements can be made.
- All residents are asked for their views and ideas through our
magazine Coastline, and our website.
- Town and parish councils are asked for their views at special
meetings.
- The draft budget is presented by Cabinet to other councillors
for their views during December and January.
- Full Council votes on the budget and sets the Council Tax in
February.