Council Tax and quality of services
Do we get value for money?I am "conflicted" about this issue, and I wonder if anyone has had a look at the expenditure figures for Ealing?On the one hand, a number of us have complained about the quality of services provided, for example the proposal to introduce wheelie bins (see the other thread).But on the other hand the council tax is frozen, so each year there will be less money to spend on providing services. Then we have the council allowing property developments and taking section 106 payments from developers - which then appear to be used to subsidise general expenditure.I'm fairly certain that the council could still make efficiency improvements, but when these take the form of (for example) pushing everything to the website, and removing the opportunity to deal with someone in person, the quality of service seems diminished.Did anyone ask us whether we wanted council taxes frozen if the result was lower quality services and a rash of inappropriate property developments?We need to have a proper dialogue with the council about where they are spending money, what amount they actually require to provide good quality services, and where this is going to come from.I am not happy to leave this up to them - because the "results" speak for themselves - rubbish!
Julian Smith ● 4146d7 Comments ● 4143d