A COUNCIL tax rise may be on the way for Frodsham residents as part of the new town council’s plan to boost support for community projects.
At the Annual Town Meeting this week, attended by just 12 residents, new mayor, Cllr Andrew Dawson, spoke of “putting our house in order, freeing up existing resources and raising annual income to increase discretionary spending to do more things.”
He said: “The town council is at a crossroads with 25% of its spending coming from reserves. We can’t keep dipping into this, it’s unsustainable.
“We’ve got to trim our overheads and we may be looking at the council tax having to rise because our other income is very low at the moment.”
“The fundamental question is: should be we be doing a great deal more with the overheads we’ve got, or should we be trying to do the same with less overheads?”
Burial and maintenance costs at the community cemetery in Tarvin Road and whether the council should continue subsidising allotments or renting land to maintain the children’s play area in Townfield Lane were among several areas Cllr Dawson suggested the new council was likely to review in its quest to become “more efficient and cost-effective.”
However, he stressed “community will take centre stage.” He pledged council dealings would become “more transparent” and that residents’ views, gained through more regular public consultation, would shape any important decisions on significant capital projects.
He said it was essential for the council to work more closely with local businesses and community groups and suggested the authority should donate a total of at least £5,000 in local grants.
He said the authority would continue to work towards achieving Quality Council status, adding: “We are set up to be a Rolls-Royce type of council, but we might have been doing Mini type of work.”
Sitting among a sea of new councillors, old guard members applauded Cllr Dawson’s lengthy presentation, describing it as “wonderful, smooth and eloquent.”
However, Cllr Pammi Taylor challenged what she called “the implication that the former town council did nothing for the community at all, but we will make everything better now.”
Cllr Dawson replied: “The town council did what it did. The people of Frodsham chose to elect Frodsham First councillors to try to make things different.”
