– by Cllr Kevin Dixon, Cabinet member for Finance and Performance Management

The New Year sees the start of the budget setting process and, like many councils up and down the country, Rother District Council faces the challenge of meeting increasing demand on services with limited resources.

To help us ensure the priorities of the council reflect our residents, we launched our annual budget and council tax consultation in which we are asking residents to share their views.

Our communities depend on vital services such as waste collection, street cleaning and leisure facilities, and the council also provides many statutory services such as housing benefit administration, council tax collection, public health, licensing and planning enforcement.

Unfortunately, the cost of delivering these in the current financial climate is becoming ever more expensive.  In addition, we are restricted by Government as to the amount by which we can raise Council Tax and these two factors taken together mean we are faced with some difficult choices to ensure we deliver a balanced budget and continue to provide the services our residents rely upon.

We also want to build on what the council has already achieved to ensure we are in the best position to react to future challenges and do the best for the district.

In 2022/23 we plan to work towards;

• Deliver a plan to ensure we are carbon neutral by 2030
• Achieve financial stability
• Enable the construction of 400 new affordable homes to rent
• Reduce the housing waiting list
• Create a resident-focused organisation
• Build a fairer society by, for example, developing an anti-poverty strategy
• Develop the local economy by providing new employment space

We are asking residents to share their views on our priorities and help councillors make the best decisions for the district, meet our financial challenges and make Rother an even better place to live.

I would encourage as many people as possible to give their views during the consultation, which ends on January 31.  To take part visit www.rother.gov.uk/consultations/budget-consultation/

Published: 17th January 2022