Sandown residents will face a five per cent council tax precept rise from April.
The move was decided at the Sandown Town Council meeting on Monday.
The average taxpayer, Band D, will have to fork out an extra £6.80 a year — or 13p a week — moving from £138.90 to £145.70.
Lightfoot: Mayor’s £1k allowance used for pet projects
A call to cut a £1,000 mayoral allowance (Cllr Paddy Lightfoot) was rejected.
Cllr Alex Lightfoot (junior) said he thought it had been used for pet projects in the past (prior to his Dad becoming Mayor) and said it was not democratic.
The increase will pay for more CCTV at The Broadway Centre and Sandham Gardens, after high levels of anti-social behaviour.
£39,500 for beach safety
Elsewhere, £39,500 will fund beach safety – a new lifeboat, lifeguard equipment, training, hut and services.
Lightfoot: Inflation has hit town council’s costs and services
Sandown mayor, Cllr Paddy Lightfoot (senior), said no one had wanted to put the precept up, but “living in the real world” meant inflation was hitting the town council and its costs and services, the same as everyone else.
He said if the council did not increase its precept by five per cent it was effectively cutting things.
The precept has not risen for Sandown residents in the past two years.
Planning enforcement
Money has also been set aside for an environment officer who looks after Sandham Gardens.
There was talk of possible Sandown-based planning enforcement officer. Some argued it was needed, but that it was the Isle of Wight Council’s duty to carry out the enforcement and should not be locally funded.
Cllr Emily Brothers said while good things were included the budget, it did not address inequality and environmental challenges.
Lightfoot (junior): “It is a challenging, but very good budget”
Cllr Alex Lightfoot recognised it was going to be a ‘very challenging year’.
Cllr Lightfoot said,
“[The clerks] have worked hard to get the precept as low as we can, while being practical about ensuring we have the provisions we need, so we can replace things when they break.
“It is a challenging, but very good budget.”
Eleven councillors backed the increase.
Council tax rise
On top, there will be police and fire precepts and an increase of up to 2.99 per cent on the main council tax bill, likely to be set by the Isle of Wight Council at a meeting on 23rd February.
Cllr Paddy Lightfoot has shared his views on social media about the budget. As has his son, Cllr Alex Lightfoot.
Article edit
12.10pm 10th Feb 2022 – In para 10, enforcement officer replaced with environment officer.
8.11am 11th Feb 2022 – Clarification that Alex Lightfoot referring to pet projects being funded was prior to his Dad becoming Mayor. Links to their social media
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: arg_flickr under CC BY 2.0
