DISTRICT VIEW

摘要

It has been a mild autumn in Devon - warm enough to make last year's snow falls seem a distant memory. We're still planning carefully for winter but, together with many other authorities, we've got another 'big freeze' to consider - council tax. There is no escaping that a tax freeze is a winner with the public. But in the midst of budget planning for the years ahead, there's a chill wind of harsh reality as we work through the practicalities, not least because in Teign-bridge, leading politicians were elected on a pledge of a two-year freeze, with an aspiration to continue it for four. In the past couple of years, we've made more than E1.5m in savings - a little under 10% of our net budget - and have seen government grant cover most of the current freeze. So, we're going into this big chill in a relatively-cosy condition compared with many. But, looking at the figures in light of continuing cuts in grant funding and drops in income from fees and charges, the cumulative costs of a tax freeze shape up like an iceberg advancing towards us.