Council chiefs approve cuts and raise council tax

Chesterfield borough councillors have approved plans to cut the number of senior management positions, seek staff voluntary redundancies and increase council tax by more than six per cent for the majority of residents.
Chesterfield BC Leader John BurrowsChesterfield BC Leader John Burrows
Chesterfield BC Leader John Burrows

Councillors have also decided to not fill vacant posts or delay appointments, reduce more services and cut-back on “office efficiencies”.

The council says the 6.4 per cent rise in council tax will generate an extra £141,358 across the whole borough to spend on “essential services”.

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It comes as the council faces a further £1.5million in funding cuts in the next 12 months - on top of £4million of cuts since 2010.

Councillor John Burrows, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Despite facing severe austerity cuts every year since 2010 we managed to freeze council tax for Chesterfield Borough Council services over the past two years.”

Mr Burrows added: “But the scale of cuts being asked of councils up and down the country in 2016/17 and beyond is so huge that local authorities are being left with little option but to increase council tax.”