COLCHESTER Borough Council has voted to freeze its share of council tax for the third year in a row.
The decision came as the council debated its £23 million budget and capital programme for 2013/14 at Colchester Town Hall last night.
Budget proposals passed include £750,000 to extend the roll out its food waste recycling scheme across the borough and £355,000 to support new and affordable home building projects. In addition £75,000 was set aside to support local entrepreneurs through dedicated training and a Colchester-based network of business advisors.
Introducing the budget, Lib Dem councillor Paul Smith said it had been produced against a background of reductions in cuts from central government amounting to around £3 million over the past three years
He said the budget that had been produced was about “doing more with less and fairness”.
The Conservative opposition did not table any ammendments but Conservative councillor Denis Willets attacked the budget for its high dependency on the New Homes bonus and its failure to tackle the decline of the town’s High Street through a town management plan.
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