Wem Town Council blames tax rise on higher costs

Officials at Wem Town Council today defended their move to raise this year's council tax by five per cent, blaming rising energy costs and increased responsibilities for the increase.

Councillors have set a budget for 2012/13 of £241,502 from local taxpayers – a move which they say will contribute to improving the quality of life in the town. Members say they have had to repeat last year's exercise.

Then they struggled to rein in spending and still had to increase the budget.

They said money was needed to meet the council's increased responsibilities such as taking over the public toilets in the town centre car park.

They also reduced spending in some areas by 10 per cent.

This year councillors said they took into account the results and opinions from a questionnaire circulated to all residents.

The council said the increase amounts to 11p per week on a Band D property, while the overall cost of council services to the Band D taxpayer is £2.30 per week.

There have been cuts in proposed figures for services including public lighting maintenance, recreation services and administration.

But some parts of the budget have been left unchanged, including Wem Sports and Social Association's grant of £19,650 for its work and an £18,000 contribution towards the Wem Town Hall Community Trust to help with running costs.

The council also continued its support for the town's swimming pool and increased its contribution to its running by £6,000.

Councillor Edward Towers, town mayor, said: "While this had been a challenging process during this time of national economic difficulty, townspeople can take satisfaction in the budget agreed.

"The council doesn't want to take any more than is absolutely necessary from hard pressed taxpayers.

"It is one that seeks 'to make every penny count'," he added.