With council tax bills rising are we getting good value for money?

National World - LocalTV

Council tax bills will go up across Liverpool to the maximum amount of Five percent after being signed off by the city council.

Transcript

00:00Every element in a Merseyside council tax bill will be increasing, with every local

00:07authority in our region confirming they'd put up council tax by the maximum of 5%.

00:13Residents will see rates across the board hitting them in the pocket a little more in

00:17the next year.

00:18We've been speaking to residents to get their take on the hike.

00:21The road's still full of potholes, there's rubbish everywhere.

00:25I can't complain about the bins, they're pretty good, there's one thing we can complain

00:31about.

00:32I know why they're doing it, they're under financial pressure and you can see the rationale

00:37behind it and a lot of it's to do with the lack of central government funding.

00:40I mean I've retired from work now, I've worked all my life and I find it very miserable

00:48that you can't have a decent retirement with the bills going up.

00:54It's all very well putting the tax up, but what are we getting for it?

01:00Are we getting the proper services we need?

01:04Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Merseyside Police and the Liverpool City Region Combined

01:08Authority will also be asking for additional household contributions over the next financial

01:13year.

01:14Proposals were signed off from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority to increase the

01:18fee we pay through our council tax to support officers.

01:21The Rotherham and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority agreed to set the organisation's

01:25annual budget which includes an increase to the mayoral precept for the first time in

01:30seven years.

01:31A rise of £5 a year has been signed off per bandi home, owing to what Mr Rotherham described

01:37as challenging times for local government finances.

01:39For the majority of properties within the city region, the increase will equate to less

01:44than one pence a day.

01:46It's going up and they're already not delivering on what they should be.

01:51Services are underfunded, the state of the roads, but one of the biggest problems is

01:56mental health in the community.

01:58All you've got to do is walk around this city and there's that many people who've just had

02:03breaks from reality.

02:05They don't know where they are, what they are, wandering around, homeless, living in

02:09doorways.

02:11These are the people that these services need to be out here helping, but there's not much

02:15happening.

02:16I mean everything's going up, just the way of the world at the moment, but I think with

02:20council tax you think, well what are we getting for it, are we getting the service that we

02:24would expect to be paying that, there's quite a lot, especially the upper tiers of it.

02:28In February, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Sporrell confirmed the force's annual

02:32terms which include an £18 a week or £9.33 per annum increase in the police precept for

02:40band A property, an additional £14 per annum for band D property.

02:44She said this year's budget is designed to protect police officer and staff numbers and

02:49sustain the visible policing presence we all value so highly.

02:52It'll also help the force to continue its work to prevent and reduce crime and anti-social

02:57behaviour.

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