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* The budget process is well under way now and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee have had an initial look at the proposals and referred more detailed questioning to their sub committees who will interrogate the officers and portfolio holders of each area of the Council's service.
The Cabinet have prepared the budget over the last several months, taking account at each stage of changes in government policy and the dictates of ministers. At first it looked as though local authorities were going to be cut to the bone with Tendring expecting around a 1% increase in Government grant and the initial budget calculations worked on the basis of raising around 6% with a tax rise, basically to maintain existing services.
Now it seems the government have realised that 2005 is an election year and to have Council Tax arguments conflicting with their election address would be most unfortunate, so low and behold there is suddenly an unexpected increase in the amount of grant receivable by Tendring, to the extent that Bill Bleakley portfolio holder for finance who is not worried why we have an increased grant, is using the opportunity to cut the potential increase in Council Tax to 4.5% and to put in the budget a number of service improvements totalling £491,000 some of which are items particularly requested by the public, in their replies to various surveys. I have no doubt we will report further on the budget process in later magazines.
* We are sure you share your Councillors concern and that of Harry Shearing the portfolio holder whose responsibilities cover sea defence works, that the government, who provide funds for sea defence work, seem to be deferring and delaying essential work on our coastal defences.
They are concentrating their effort spending 'flood prevention' money on inland areas that have suffered greatly from rivers bursting their banks, as we have witnessed on almost every news bulletin, but whilst we have every sympathy with these unfortunate householders, the neglect of coastal sea defence work borders on the insane. We have all read about rising sea levels and potential floods. John White has attended a number of conferences on this very subject, both here and abroad speaking about his experiences in the 1953 floods.
Councillor Shearing has reported that if emergency work is not done on a section of the sea wall at Holland on Sea, it is likely to collapse and fall into the sea and this has been well reported in the local papers. The Environment Agency allocate 'points' to routine work that needs to be done and the original date set for our work was only a few years away - then they changed the points system and now our prospective date is about ten years away (if its not changed again!).
* The results of the 2004 Citizens' Panel survey have now been published. This panel consisted of 1435 randomly selected Tendring residents. 79% record their satisfaction that the quality of service is good overall, 60% say the Council gives value for money and 64% say the Council does the best it can with the money available.
There are three key areas where the panel would like to see additional funds spent. And their order of choice is first Public Conveniences, Second Fly-tipping and thirdly spending on Community Safety Projects. The above is an extract from a 50 page report with pages of tables detailing the survey results in various forms, but one other little snippet. They state that 56% of residents now use the Internet and of these 21% use it every day!
John White & Michael Talbot
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FEBRUARY 2005