‘SIGNIFICANT’ investment – including the long-awaited plan to regenerate Rugby town centre – has been promised by Rugby Borough Council (RBC) as it proposes to raise its share of Council Tax bills by an average of around £6.50 a year.
Announcing its first budget, RBC’s Labour-led administration – which took over the council last June under a pact with the Liberal Democrat group – proposes to raise its portion of Council Tax by 2.99 per cent – £6.49 per year for an average Band D property.
The council says it will invest £3.7million in services to ensure it is ‘better aligned with the projected service demands of the next financial year’.
This budget also includes a new Reserves Policy to ensure the regeneration of Rugby Town Centre goes ahead.
Planned investments include £1.3million towards the twin aims of ‘laying a platform for sustainable economic growth’ and ‘reducing inequality’.
Other areas lined up for investment include property flood protection, health initiatives, adaptation to climate change, and community facilities.
The council is also launching feasibility studies into providing a Community Supermarket, and a new Community Centre in Coton Park.
The budget was drawn up following a review of council operations and expenditure plans.
RBC leader Coun Michael Moran said Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors had worked together to ‘take a fresh look at how the council is run’.
He said: “After many years of repeating the same approach, this year we are making a clear break from the past and ensuring that the council resources its services adequately so that it can perform better and do the job its residents and businesses expect.
“This budget ensures real investment into both front line services as well as preparing a platform for delivering on plans to regenerate the town centre and other long-held projects.”
Liberal Democrat Group leader Coun Jerry Roodhouse said the budget supported ‘a new way of working for residents’.
He added: “The drive is to ensure we deliver improved services and invest for the future.
“We are committed to this new progressive way of working and will also be focusing on regeneration. The talking has to stop and we need to get on and deliver.”
RBC deputy leader and finance spokesperson Coun Ish Mistry said the council’s new approach to budget setting was ‘more realistic and more sensible than the approach taken in previous years’.
He added: “We also recognise that tangible progress on modernising and transforming our services has been limited in previous years and we need to see much more rapid changes. Previous efforts to commercialise our services and generate new income sources have also not brought in the revenue that they should.
“We have to now re-focus our resources to ensure we can deliver our ambitious corporate strategy successfully, and this is an area where we will pay particular attention to ensure the council is best placed to give our residents and businesses the service they deserve.”
Liberal Democrat Group deputy leader Coun Isabelle McKenzie said the council had already invested in systems to improve customer service, including allowing online payments for council tax.
She added: “We are investing again this year, and along with a new Customer Charter, are spearheading better customer service.
“With growing demand for council services, we could not keep doing the same old thing and expect a better result.”
The Observer has contacted the Rugby Conservative Association for comment.
The budget measures will be considered at a meeting of the Full Council on Thursday February 13.
