WEST Devon ratepayers will face a rise of almost 5% in their bills to the borough council this year ? despite measures to keep costs down. The borough last week agreed a 4.9% rise in council tax, which will cost residents in an average Band D property an extra 15p a week ? or £7.75 a year. Band D home owners will pay £165.89 for the services provided by the borough in the coming year. But there is a welcome sweetener for some residents in the coming year. From April 1, the borough is introducing free bus travel across Devon for the disabled and for all residents over the age of 60, at a cost of more than £350,000. The council has spent months reviewing every area of business in an effort to pare down costs and has identified £400,000 worth of savings, plus new ways of generating income to keep council tax below the level which attracts capping measures from central government. Cllr Dick Eberlie, chairman of the council?s strategies and resources committee, said: ?West Devon has always been driven by a culture of focusing on achieving value for money for council services. ?With a total of over £20-million in expenditure to manage each year, we are proud of our record of strong financial management and our new budget will enable us to deliver high quality services to our residents, while ensuring council tax increases are kept as low as possible.? The council controversially agreed to raise car parking fees in West Devon car parks once more this year in an effort to generate extra income. But it insists it has listened to concerns raised by residents and the business community and is writing to leading organisations, proposing further talks to tailor charges to local needs. It is also developing a long-term strategy in consultation with local representatives for car parking charges in future years. Councillors have agreed to continue to cut the discount on second home owners? council tax, generating an extra £33,000 a year, which will be invested in affordable housing. With a population of around 50,000 in West Devon, the council will have a total net budget of around £7.5-million in the coming financial year. The new budget takes into account extra demands from central government, such as new electoral administration legislation and Freedom of Information Act plus new licensing laws. In addition to the free bus travel scheme, other new initiatives being introduced by the council next year include investment in its housing enabling team, in an effort to drive forward the aim of delivering 562 affordable homes in the borough by March 2009. The authority is to introduce a new customer service centre in St James Street in Okehampton, an extension to the plastic milk bottle collection to accept all plastic bottles, a new E-payment system enabling residents to make card payments via the council?s website and the completion of 15 units for new businesses at Pitts Cleave Industrial Estate in Tavistock. The bulk of West Devon ratepayers? council tax bills is comprised of the rates demanded by Devon County Council, which has yet to set its tax levels for the coming year.
