District Council votes for higher taxes, increased parking charges - and a pay rise for councillors!

5.39.00pm GMT Thu 12th Feb 2009

Conservative run North Herts District Council has voted down proposals from the Liberal Democrat opposition that would have reduced the rise in Council Tax and cancelled the proposed rise in parking charges. At the same meeting councillors voted to give themselves a 2.45% pay rise.

Liberal Democrat leader Steve Jarvis said, "We proposed a package of measures that would have frozen Councillors pay, reduced the council tax rise to 3.5%, cancelled the rise in car park charges and restored maintenance of town centres. We planned to do this by scrapping a plan to spend £400,000 on computer upgrades and cancelling the £10.6 million plan to move to new council offices. The Conservatives told us that the new offices would be of great benefit to local people, but I doubt that many will agree with this. The Council is undoubtedly facing a difficult financial situation but it should be concentrating on how it can help local people, rather than spending a fortune on new offices and upgraded computers that it could do without."

Labour supported the Conservative proposals saying that "they were the best available."