Harrow residents are being asked to have their say as the council launch a consultation on the Draft Budget for 2024/25.
The council deliver services to more than 261,000 people across the borough, and are looking for resident opinion on how they should distribute their budget for the coming financial year.
The council state that they are “heavily reliant” on council tax to fund its core budget.
A spokesperson said: “While we receive Government funding to help us deliver services – they tell us how we must use this money for example on schools, public health and housing benefits.
This year, almost 80 per cent of our day-to-day (revenue) budget is funded by you from council tax – that’s £154m out of £196.3m to be exact.”
Harrow claim that rising costs in adult services increased spending by £5million, whilst soaring levels of homelessness has pushed the bill for temporary accommodation by 30 per cent to more than £4million this year.
Last year, council tax increased by 4.99 per cent, and are now hoping to raise it again by the same amount to continue to combat overspending.
The council state: “Our draft budget for next year (2024/25) has been put together to ensure every pound is spent on services that put residents first, deliver a clean and safe borough and support those in need.
“If we do this [raise council tax], the good news is that next year we will have a balanced budget giving us enough money to pay for everything we need to do in 2024-25 – thanks to robust financial management and making savings.”
Take part in the budget consultation at https://www.harrow.gov.uk/news/article/11276/consultation-on-our-draft-budget-for-2024-25-have-your-say
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