A controversial 15% council tax rise has been approved by Croydon Council after a unanimous vote by Conservative councillors.
The 15% council tax rise has been the subject of much debate over the past months, with heated protests taking place outside Croydon Town Hall on the nights of March 8 and at a previous budget meeting on March 1.
The increase was previously rejected after Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors voted unanimously to reject the 2023/4 budget on March 1 but passed through last night with all 34 Conservative votes in favour of the budget, three votes against from Green and Lib Dem councillors and 33 Labour councillors abstaining.
The meeting on March 1 also saw the council warned of a legal deadline of March 11 by which council tax and budget for the next financial year must be agreed.
Councillor Stuart King said: “Whilst Labour whole-heartedly disagrees with the 15% council tax rise, we could not in good conscience repeatedly block the setting of a legal budget and plunge the borough into a Tory-made financial crisis.”
The Government gave Croydon Council special permission to raise council tax this year without a public referendum after the borough announced its third bankruptcy notice in just two years in November 2022. The council is currently £1.6bn in debt.
The council have said that the increase will bring in £20m per year and that without the rise they would have to make additional cuts on top of the £36m worth already included in the budget.
The budget also includes a £2m hardship support fund as well as £33m allocated for a council tax support scheme. Opposition councillors have expressed concern over whether this amount can be guaranteed to reach those most financially vulnerable.
Mayor Jason Perry said: “I’m pleased that council has agreed this difficult budget which will help us deliver services for residents whilst taking much-needed action to fix Croydon’s finances.”
He continued: “We have demonstrated that we will not shy away from taking tough decisions locally to do the right thing in the long term for our borough.”
Croydon Council experienced its first bankruptcy under Labour governance in 2020. The council recently decided to release a report into the financial mismanagement of the council under Labour administration between 2014 and 2020.
