"Coventry Council Tax bills set for inflation-busting rise – to pay for fewer services"

[rebbonk]

Shelling out more, for less! Yep, sounds a real good deal to me!

I notice that there appears to be none of our pain being shared around the council chamber or with the higher management salaries. - B@st@rds!

[dutchman]

Paying more for less - Council tax to rise but bins emptied less often

Coventry residents will pay the council more for less after a council tax rise was agreed among a raft of cuts to services.

The ruling Labour group this afternoon forced through its budget proposals for 2017/18 that included a 4.9 per cent council tax rise - the highest amount possible without a referendum.

Weekly green-lidded bin collections have also been axed in favour of fortnightly collections as householders in Band A properties face paying around £50 a year more for their council tax. It’s around £70 for Band D homes.

But in a U-turn previously under-threat services like the Job Shop and Shopmobility were saved, and libraries have been given a stay of execution.

There was cross-party agreement between the ruling Labour group and opposition Conservatives over the 4.9 per cent council tax rise, although independent Cllr Glenn Williams voted against the increase.

But Labour was forced to push through its budget using its majority to defeat objections to the plans from the opposition and independent Cllr Williams.

The Conservatives put forward an alternative budget that included reductions to trade union facility time and the preservation of ward forums, but it was defeated by Labour.

Conservative leader Cllr John Blundell suggested Labour is “in the grip” of the trade unions and claimed union costs amount to £900,000 a year for the council.

They also slammed the decision to axe “extremely well attended” ward forums.

Cllr Glenn Williams said: “I can’t understand how we can charge our residents more to deliver less services”.

He pointed to reduced bin collections as an example.

He said raising the council tax by 4.9 per cent to avoid a referendum, the maximum increase allowed without triggering the need for a public vote, was unacceptable. He said the changes should be put to the people in a referendum.

[rebbonk]

Robbing b@st@rds

The problem is that they've got a captive market. We have no choice but pay up.

[Melisandre]

I can fore see the streets being littered with rubbish or dumped Coventry s plague of rats will love that. I can see a new job being created in CCC its called the Pied Piper.

What happened to the rate rebate each year we use to have last I recall it was in the 80s prior to them seperating the rent or rates being encluded with our water.

[dutchman]

Concerns over council finance post as leading Ricoh Arena dispute figure Chris West departs

CONCERNS have been raised over the loss of Coventry City Council’s £150,000-salaried finance director post – with Chris West departing after his instrumental role in the Ricoh Arena dispute.

Opposition councillors raised their concerns to the Coventry Observer as the council confirmed Mr West – a former director of Arena Coventry Limited alongside council chief executive Martin Reeves – is leaving after three decades, and his post will not be continued.

Mr West was a central figure in legal disputes with Coventry City Football Club’s owners before the controversial Ricoh sale to Wasps in 2014, which is the subject of ongoing High Court legal action.

The director of finance post has long been considered the most important officer post behind the role of chief executive.

The non-replacement of Mr West comes as the organisation is seeking to make six-figure savings with a restructure of top management.

The council confirmed Mr West, whose full title is ‘director of finance and executive director of resources’, will leave by the end of the month after 32 years’ service.

The council’s budget for 2017/8 being finalised at a full council meeting today – which includes further jobs and services cuts in an era of government funding reductions to local authorities – will be Mr West’s tenth.

Conservative group leader, councillor John Blundell, said his group had raised concerns over the council’s private plans to discontinue the role, and have the functions shared between the people directorate’s Gail Quinton and acting chief executive Martin Yardley. Mr Yardley himself is filling in for £200,000-earning Mr Reeves who also works for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Coun Blundell said: “Obviously it’s a saving, but there is concern it would remove financial control from two large spending directorates.

“This is a Labour group decision and we have raised our concerns. We have been told it could change back if it does not work out.”

Mr Reeves said: “Over the past ten years, Chris has skilfully managed the council’s finances during a period of national austerity and a turbulent time for local government funding.

“He has always been passionate about the city and his commitment to his senior role in the organisation.”

A council spokesman said In a note to staff Mr Reeves thanked Mr West for his ‘support and hard work’.

We are told Mr West also messaged staff explaining that it had been a’ difficult decision’.

He added: “It’s been a hard decision, but I am feeling the pace of working so intensively for so long. There are also a number of personal factors that make now the right time to leave.”

[dutchman]

Coventry will buck the West Midlands trend when it loses weekly bin collections



Coventry's phasing out of weekly bin collections will buck the trend for councils across the West Midlands.

But it will bring the authority more in line with the rest of the country, where fortnightly collections are the norm.

Five out of the seven councils in the region still have non-recyclable rubbish collected every week, analysis shows.

Coventry, Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell and Solihull are on weekly collections while Walsall and Wolverhampton collect it every other week.

From the autumn Coventry green bins with general household waste will only be collected once a fortnight.

The city’s brown bins for garden waste will be collected every fortnight all year round.

At the moment they are collected every fortnight but only between March and November.

The changes are expected to save the council £1 million a year. They are part of a series of cuts to save £36 million a year which amounts to 15 per cent of the council’s budget.

Walsall and Wolverhampton do still operate weekly pick-ups for people who live in flats and communal properties.

Outside the West Midlands weekly bin collections which were once something people took for granted are now relatively uncommon in England.

Our analysis found at least 66 councils still have weekly rubbish collections whereas at least 212 are now on fortnightly.

Many authorities have moved over to fortnightly collections in recent years, often citing cost cutting and increasing recycling rates as the reasons for making them less frequent.

Often authorities collect non-recyclable rubbish one week and recycling the other.

The remaining councils with weekly collections are a mixture of urban authorities such as Bradford and Southampton and rural ones including Cornwall and the New Forest.

A few councils, including Oldham and Rochdale, have even moved to collections every three weeks angering some residents.

That's fine if they actually turn up every fortnight but for many reasons they often don't which means at least a whole month between some collections

[rebbonk]

For what we pay in Council tax, this is really scandalous.

[Melisandre]

Will they be giving extra bins here then for garden rubbish also house hold rubbish like some other councils have .

Considering we are infested with rats who will be the Pied Piper .

You dont mind paying if we got a good services but we dont each day I have to have my front garden checked for street rubbish blown on to my front garden as we have to keep our gardens tidy in the contract of housing .

Also come Autum Winter Spring leaves are blown into my gardens which recently I had return to the church after 19 years of me having to dispose of them which was 22 full black bags of leaves and seeds and their weeds plus a large heap of the same off my front garden and still more to come so far 4 black bags full for them to have back as they refuse to cut back the trees over hanging my garden. I now have the seeds from the trees growing out of my guttering.

[dutchman]

Will they be giving extra bins here then for garden rubbish also house hold rubbish like some other councils have

Not just that Melisandre, some families already need two green bins so will they now need four green bins?

[Melisandre]

They will as they are telling people to put dinner and food scraps straight into the brown lid bin cooked meats can not. I can just imagine the smell as we are not allowed to place them wrapped up.