Thurrock Council may be forced to go to government and ask for significant increase in council tax as it battles to cope with debt problems
THURROCK council tax payers could face a significant increase in their bills next year to pay for the current administration's failed borrow to invest policy which has left the authority facing bankruptcy.
Under pressure from opposition Labour leader Cllr John Kent, the Conservative administration's recently appointed portfolio holder for finance, Cllr Graham Snell, conceded he could not rule out the significant rise and that the council was considering whether to ask the government to allow it to raise local taxation.
Normally any rise over five per cent could only happen if the council called a referendum of residents, but Cllr Snell has confirmed the council may have to ask the government to allow it to bypass that ruling to meet its operational debts.
Thurrock Nub News has led the way this week, reporting on the council's dire financial situation and the how it plans to cope with debt of more than a billion pounds.
At yesterday's (Wedneday, 30 November) meeting of the full council Cllr Kent piled the pressure on Cllr Snell, asking what levels of council tax the council was going to be looking at next year.
Cllr Snell initially hesitated and said: "The Government gives us the flexibility to raise council tax up to five per cent. We will be considering rises within that envelope when we have our budget setting conversations.
Under continued pressure from Cllr Kent he was forced to concede further ground.
Cllr Kent said: "Earlier this evening the leader of the council was talking of negotiations with the Government and looking at what the ask of Government will be in relation to the extraordinary financial support this council needs.
"Does the portfolio holder intend that part of that negotiation will be asking for permission to raise council tax by more than five per cent without the need for a referendum?"
In response Mr Snell said: "Yes. There is that possible but there are no decisions on that yet. Should there be, it would come back to this chamber."
Asked if he would rule such an option out, Mr Snell said: "Unfortunately I can't rule that out. That decision won't be ours. The commissioners will make that decision whether it will be raised, or whether the option to raise it will come to this chamber and if that decision is made, and it hasn't be made yet, we will discuss that here."
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