Browse the latest news and stories about council tax by Oxfordshire County Council and across the city and district councils.
Cherwell District Council’s budget for the new financial year has been set despite a lack of support and criticism from opposition parties.
Thames Valley Police has decided to increase the council tax it collects by 6.22 per cent in an effort to provide ‘strong local policing to keep streets safe.’
The councillor in charge of finances at Oxfordshire County Council has launched a staunch defence of its spending plans.
The Conservative opposition wants to limit the rise in the county’s portion of council tax to 3.99 per cent, two per cent of which is ring-fenced for adult social care.
The councillor in charge of finances at Oxfordshire County Council has defended raising council tax by the maximum allowed and saving more than half of the extra cash for a rainy day.
That assertion was challenged by a member of the opposition but the councillor insisted the implication had been made through “very strong hints”.
The council’s cabinet member for finance, rued the lack of control districts have over revenue generation during an address at a cabinet meeting held at Woodstock Community Centre.
The revised proposals, to be presented to the council’s cabinet on 24 January, includes more funding than previously announced and it also identifies significant further pressures on services due to inflation and growing demands.
Residents in Oxfordshire are being asked to have their say on plans to increase the policing portion of council tax to fund Thames Valley Police.
The county’s cabinet member for finance, was fielding questions from the performance and corporate services overview and scrutiny committee over initial proposals for the council’s budget from April 2023.
The council has balanced the budget despite facing unprecedented financial pressures as a result of rising inflation and interest rates, the economic downturn and the legacy impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on some key income streams.
District councillors at the Vale unanimously agreed to remove the restrictions requiring low-income households to contribute towards their annual council tax bill.