With austerity measures hitting residents hard, Sutton Council is proposing to freeze Council Tax for the fourth year running, subject to approval by the Full Council on Monday 4th March.

Carshalton Central ward Cllr. Jill Whitehead says: “The freeze means that Band D taxpayers will have to pay Sutton £1,140.89 for 2013/14 – but a fierce commitment to cutting costs and providing value-for-money means that the authority has been able to keep every library open, retain weekly bin collections and rebuild Carshalton’s own Westcroft Leisure Centre as a world-class facility.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Ruth Dombey, said: “We are very aware that prices are rising faster than incomes and residents are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

“So we looked closely at how we can cut costs and work more efficiently and still provide the excellent services residents expect without raising Council Tax. And I’m pleased to say we have managed that for the fourth consecutive year.

“In fact we would have liked to have cut bills, but most of Sutton’s budget comes from the Government and by 2013/14 our annual grant funding from government will have been reduced by nearly £22million since 2010/11.”

Work to improve efficiency includes the ongoing Smarter Services Sutton programme which is reviewing every service to ensure that the maximum possible use is made of every pound of taxpayers’ money.

Local Cllr. Alan Salter said: “Changes to how the authority collects waste, the introduction of self-service terminals in libraries and even sending out text message reminders to tell residents that Council tax payments are due are all examples of ways in which the council has maintained – and even improved – services while cutting costs”.

The proposal to freeze Council tax was discussed at the Strategy and Resources Committee meeting on Monday 11th February and a final decision will be reached at the full Council Meeting on Monday 4th March.