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News

POOLE SETS ITS COUNCIL TAX

POOLE’S Council Tax for 2001/2002 is set to rise by 5.5%, within the Government’s target of 6%, to ensure that the needs of Poole people are met.

In the coming year, the Borough of Poole will invest £111.3million to deliver services important to Poole people, £40million of which will be funded through Council Tax.

In November, the Borough of Poole was ‘All Ears’ after setting up a three-day event at the Dolphin Shopping Centre. Over 800 residents took the chance to spend their Council Tax (in the currency of lego bricks) and show which services were important to them.

Cllr Brian Clements, Leader of the Council, said: "The results of the event helped us to shape the budget and to identify a number of priorities for Poole people:

· Education remains Poole’s top priority and this year an extra £3.8million will be invested into Poole’s schools, an increase in the budget of 6.6%. These changes to the budget will help to raise education standards and to provide support for both staff and pupils. In addition the Council will be investing over £1million to refurbish school facilities.

· Social Services will receive an extra £1.1million, a budget increase of 5%, to help care for children, older people and vulnerable people. A further £1million will be invested to provide further affordable housing for families in Poole.

· All Poole residents will benefit from improvements in basic local services, where an investment of £498,000 saved from other budgets, will help develop services including grounds maintenance, street cleaning, operating a new CCTV scheme in the High Street and Turlin Moor and better support for victims of domestic violence. In addition, a new Town Centre Clean Team will be introduced to clean the Bus Station, Town Centre and Quay, seven days a week.

· A new concessionary bus scheme will be introduced for retired people and people with disabilities using £500,000 to develop public transport in Poole and the surrounding areas.

· The Council will continue to develop plans for the second harbour crossing, including developments for the new bridge and the regeneration of central Poole and Lower Hamworthy."

Cllr Brian Clements, Leader of the Council, added: "The ‘All Ears’ event was part of our greatly increased consultation this year. It brought the Council’s budget to life and helped us to identify the needs and views of our residents. Through the event we were able to show residents just how difficult it is to make choices and to give them the opportunity to show us how we should best use their Council Tax.

As a result we will be delivering improved services and still setting one of the lowest Council Tax levels in the country.

By setting priorities and delivering our promises we will make Poole an even more beautiful place to live, work, learn and play. Poole has a prosperous future and is a place to be truly proud of."

Brian Clements, Leader of the Council