Councillors have approved Barnet Council’s budget for the new financial year at a meeting on Tuesday evening (3 March). Barnet Council will have a budget of £465million over the next year, covering services including bin collections, street cleaning, maintaining our roads and pavements, and providing social care for adults and children.
Council Tax will be raised to cover increasing demand for services as government funding decreases. It will be raised by 1.99% and the Adult Social Care Precept of 2% will be applied during the next financial year, from April 1 2020. The increase – totalling 3.99% – is equivalent to £48.87 extra per year for an average Band D property.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Dan Thomas, said: “We have a great record on Council Tax, delivering top quality services and value for money for the people of Barnet. Unlike many other councils, we froze our Council Tax for nine consecutive years until 2019.
“The current increases will help us maintain our record of providing first-class facilities for people throughout the borough. We’ll be spending over £600million on infrastructure in the next five years. This comes on top of nearly £200million per year for vital services such as social care, health, fitness and leisure facilities. We spend £6million per year on maintaining Barnet’s roads and pavements, and set aside further substantial funding for schools, children’s social care, and other important services.
“Our top priority has and always will always be serving the needs of our residents.”
The council must save £17.3million in the next financial year. The council has a £71.7million budget gap to address between now and 2025.