MAYOR BURNHAM PROPOSES COUNCIL TAX HIKE OF £24 A YEAR TO PAY FOR ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTERS JUST MONTHS AFTER STRIPPING SALFORD OF ITS SECOND ENGINE

As we reported over a week ago, their are proposals to increase council tax by £24 per year for Band D properties in the coming tax year and from the response we had on our Social Media sites and SalfordOnline group, not too many were happy at the prospect at another hike. 

The only real conciliation is the planned increase is £9 less than the previous years?

Since the proposals was put forward by the Deputy Mayor, Andy Burnham the Metro Mayor has now spoken on the matter, saying that the GM authority needs to make tough decisions to protect 'vital' front-line services.

The money from the proposed increase will come again in the form of a precept which will go towards bolstering police and firefighters across the whole Greater Manchester region in the face of government cuts, it is hoped that 108 new GMFRS recruits would join the service over the coming year.

Burnham went on to say: 

Quote

 

“I have had to make tough decisions in proposing this budget.

"I need to balance providing the vital services people in Greater Manchester need, deal with pressures from cuts by central government, and make sure the burden on council tax payers is fair.

“This small rise in council tax I’m proposing – which is lower than the increase in 2019/20 - is to ensure we have a fire and police service that can do the job people expect them to do, and provide support to those in our communities who need a little extra help.”

 

However, some have been highly critical as Salford has recently lost its second engine in Eccles during recent cuts which were rubber stamped by Burnham himself as part of his so called 'New vision for the GM Fire and Rescue Services'.

The government recently announced an additional £1.1 billion increase in their direct grant to fund police services, Greater Manchester expected to receive upwards of £40m which will go towards funding a proposed 347 additional police officers for the authority this year.

Deputy mayor Bev Hughes who was first to call for the proposed increased said:

Quote

 

“This announcement is long overdue and we are far from undoing the damage of the last decade that has seen local policing cut to the bone.

“But it’s a small first step in strengthening police officer numbers to a sustainable level and ensuring our police service is fairly funded.”

 

We will find out soon enough as the final budget is to be rubber stamped on Valentines day (Fri 14th Feb) next month.