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Transcript of Council tax 2012
Kent & MedwayFire & Rescue Authority
... provides more than 140 servicesFind out inside how yourcouncil tax funds them
mycouncil
2012/13
2 Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
An amazingyear inMedway
Stay up-to-dateSign up to receive Medway Council'smonthly email newsletter. Bringing updateson council news, events and entertainmentstraight to your inbox.Visit www.medway.gov.uk/signup
For details of what’s going on in Medway in 2012,
visit www.celebratemedway2012.co.uk
3
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
About your council taxMedway Council, Kent Police Authority and Kent and Medway Fire and RescueAuthority together deliver most of the local services in your area. If you live in an area with a parish council, it too provides some local services. This leafletprovides information from each of these authorities.
The council tax you pay is collected by Medway Council on behalf of all theabove authorities. The total amount is then divided between these authorities(see table on page four).
We have set our 2012/13 budgets in probably the most difficult global financialcircumstances that we have ever faced. Demand for local services continues toincrease as a consequence of an expanding population, high expectations andcontinuing economic challenges. At the same time central government haspledged to reduce the national defi cit through reductions in public spendingwhich inevitably has a significant impact on local government finances, as dorising prices.
Despite these demanding circumstances, and in light of the continuing financial difficulties facing manyhouseholds, all of the three authorities have agreed thatcouncil tax should not be increased for the secondsuccessive year. This has required a fundamental lookat the amount of tax payers’ money we spend to ensureservices are as efficient as they can be and deliverexcellent value for money. Inevitably this means thatsome services have had to be reviewed to balance thecompeting demands of increased spending pressuresand reduced government funding/frozen council tax.
Kent & MedwayFire & Rescue Authority
Did you know?Medway’scouncil tax
is the lowest in Kent
Up
to
£4
0,0
00
£4
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to£
52
,00
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56
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way
Cou
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£746
.10
£870
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£994
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Ken
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9.54
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8
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£5
3.87
£6
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mes
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If y
ou
live
in o
ne
of
the
follo
win
g p
aris
hes
yo
u h
ave
to p
ay t
he
par
ish
pre
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ow
n. T
his
is a
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o t
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fig
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s ab
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.To
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or e
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rack
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Ho
use
ban
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A
B
C
D
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F
G
H
How
muc
h will
I hav
e to
pay?
*To
tals
sh
ow
n e
xclu
de
par
ish
pre
cep
ts.
5
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
Where does the money come from?In 2012/13 the money comes from:
What does the council spend money on?Mostly on education and schools. This is like most other councils that have aresponsibility for education. The next area that has a large amount spent on it is children’ssocial services and other services for the community, such as care for older people. The cost of older people’s services is increasing because people are living longer.
Spend Services 2012/13 Budget per day
Services for children £200.4m £549,000
Housing (including benefit payments) £131.3m £360,000
Adult social services £88m £241,000
Services for the environment £52.9m £145,000
Leisure and cultural services £24.5m £67,000
Other council services £54m £148,000
Less: Better for Less efficiency programme (£2.4m) (£7,000)
Budget 2012/13 £548.7m £1,503,000
■ Government grants £352.3m■ Fees, charges and other income £93.3m■ Council tax £99.1m■ Council tax freeze grant £2.5m■ Use of reserves £1.5mTOTAL £548.7m
Your council tax 2012/13
Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay6
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
19 Sure Startchildren’scentres inMedway
82Medway schoolscelebrated their best everGCSE results last year
primaryschools
17 secondary schools
4
...will help me achieve my potential
mycouncil
Did youknow?
MEDWAY HAS MORE THAN
115PLAY AREAS
£15,000,000of combined investment on remodelling and rebuilding
seven primary schools
Did youknow?
...helped us get on theproperty ladder
mycouncil
7
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
PROSPECTIVE HOMEOWNERSIN MEDWAY CAN GET AHELPING STEP UP ON THEPROPERTY LADDER WITH THE
FIRSTBUY SCHEME
7
ST MARY’S ISLANDaward-winning housing development including amarina and shopping and entertainment complex
MILES OFFLAGSHIP
WATERFRONTREGENERATION
...helps me be independent
mycouncil
Your council tax 2012/13
8 Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
© Office for Disability Issues(www.odi.gov.uk)
FREESWIMMINGis available for over-60s* to help maintainan active lifestyle
* And under-11s
is a free, 24-hour, sevendays a week counsellingservice for carers
Did you know?Medway has a freeoutdoor gym atRainham recreationground designed tohelp over-60s stay fit
24-HOUR INSTANT RESPONSESERVICE TO HELP PEOPLEMAINTAIN INDEPENDENCE
Telecare
MEDWAY'S FIRST PURPOSE-
BUILT EXTRACAREHOUSING SCHEMEOPENSIN GILLINGHAM IN APRIL ANDWILL SUPPORT 60 PEOPLE
9
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
mycouncil
...keeps my neighbourhoodclean, safe and green
You can help keep Medway clean, safe and green by
reporting environmental issueslike flytipping and graffiti through the Love Medway: ■ website www.lovemedway.co.uk ■ Facebook page■ phone app. Or you can: ■ phone 01634 333333 ■ email [email protected] ■ text 07725202020 with letters LM at thestart, followed by details andlocation of the problem.
Did you know?
COMMUNITY OFFICERSACROSS MEDWAY 22
Food waste inbrown bins iscollected everyfortnight,
saving more than£40 a tonneon disposal costs
parks in Medwayhave received a
Green FlagA w a r d
- the national standard for parks. Capstone Farm Country Park,Riverside Country Park, TheVines, Hillyfields and Broomhill
5
mycouncil
...helps keep usentertained
Your council tax 2012/13
10 Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
28 is available for under-11s and over-60s
to maintain an active lifestyle
Medway Park, £11millioncentre of sporting excellence andofficially approved training venuefor the London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games
…about Medway’s 2012 Year of Celebration?From the 200th anniversary of the Royal Engineers being based in Medway to Her Majesty The Queen’sDiamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympicand Paralympic Games, it will be a momentous year. Visit www.celebratemedway2012.co.uk for information.
Do you know?
MEDWAY HOSTSMORE THAN
DAYS OF FREEFESTIVALSAND EVENTSEACH YEAR
FREE SWIMMING
16 librariesand 2 mobilelibraries
11
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
mycouncil
...helps me with my business
The Medway 100 in 100Apprenticeship Challengehas arranged more than
100apprenticeplacementswith local businesses
The Employ Medwayprogramme hassupported more than
600people into work
The Medway economy is worthmore than £3.3billion per year
Did youknow?
50BUSINESSES HAVE SIGNEDUP TO THE MEDWAY CITYCARD REWARD SCHEME,PROMOTING LOCAL TRADE
MORETHAN
Members can benefit from help oncomplying with the law, independentrecognition and increased trade
12
Your council tax 2012/13
Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
As well as providing everyday services, the council will beinvesting more than £92million over the next three years inlong-term projects such as improving roads, creating andmaintaining jobs, schools and council housing. The money forthese schemes comes from a number of sources, includingborrowing, government grants and selling surplus assets.
The council spends more than £548million providing services to Medwayresidents. The table below illustrates how this spending is paid for, together withcomparative figures for 2011/12.
Paying for big, long-term projects
2011/12 2012/13
Gross revenue spending on council services £616.842m £548.733m
Less: Gross income (£233.149m) (£241.962m)
Budget requirement £383.693m £306.771m
Less: Dedicated schools grant + formula grant (£285.170m) (£207.691m)*
Council tax requirement excluding parishes £98.523m £99.080m
Plus: Parish precepts £0.341m £0.359m
Council tax requirement including parishes £98.864m £99.439m
Key council services■ Adult social services■ Children and families,
including education■ Council tax benefit and
housing benefit■ Community safety■ Economic development
■ Environmental servicesand licensing
■ Highways and publictransport
■ Housing and healthimprovement
■ Leisure services■ Libraries
■ Planning services■ Street cleaning
and parking■ Trading standards■ Waste collection
and recycling■ Waste disposal■ Youth services
* Decrease due to Medway academies now receiving funding
13
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
Proportion of Property value range Band band D chargeable
Up to £40,000 A 6/9
£40,001 to £52,000 B 7/9
£52,001 to £68,000 C 8/9
£68,001 to £88,000 D 9/9
£88,001 to £120,000 E 11/9
£120,001 to £160,000 F 13/9
£160,001 to £320,000 G 15/9
£320,001 and above H 18/9
Services Budget 2011/12 Budget 2012/13
Services for children £275.231m £200.394m*
Housing (including benefit payments) £120.972m £131.294m
Adult social services £89.528m £87.972m
Services for the environment £52.978m £52.922m
Leisure and cultural services £24.717m £24.541m
Other council services £53.416m £54.020m
Less: Better for Less efficiency programme (£2.410m)
Total spending £616.842m £548.733m
Less: Income from charges, government grants etc (£518.319m) (£449.653m)
Council tax requirement £98.523m £99.080m
The council divides the amount ofmoney it needs to raise by thenumber of properties in Medway.This gives the amount eachhousehold pays. For example, in2012/13 people with a property inband D will pay £1,119.15 (this isfor council services only anddoesn’t include the amount that isadded on for police and fire servicesand charges by parishes). Chargesfor the remaining bands are aproportion of the band D charge.
How is my council tax worked out?Each residential property is put into a valuation band. There are eight bandsaltogether according to the estimated market value, as at 1 April, 1991.
Changes in costs of servicesThe council plans to spend more than £548m providing services to residents.This table shows how this is spent, together with comparative figures for 2011/12.
direct from the Department for Education rather than Medway Council
Your council tax 2012/13
Your personal information will be held and used in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Medway Council will use the information you have provided in connection withthe administration of council tax. Medway Council is also under a duty to protectthe public funds it administers and to this end may lawfully disclose informationto other public sector agencies to:■ prevent or detect benefits fraud and any other crime and/or to administer
claims for non-payment of council tax;■ to support national fraud initiatives – the council is required by law to
participate in National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercises. Counciltax information may be provided to the Audit Commission for NFI purposesand will be used for cross-system and cross-authority comparison for theprevention and detection of fraud;
■ to protect public funds in investigating misuse of public money.
The council also uses basic council tax information about you, e.g. name andaddress, in other areas of service provision if this:■ helps you to access services more easily;■ promotes the more efficient and cost effective delivery of services;■ helps recover monies owed to the council.
The council will not use your personal data in a way that may cause youunwarranted detriment. Any disclosure of personal data shall be made inaccordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
You are able to see a copy of the information held about you. For further informationabout this please contact the Data Protection Officer by phone on 01634 306000or by email [email protected] or visit www.medway.gov.uk/councilanddemocracy/performanceandpolicy/dataprotection.aspx
Council tax data protection and fair processing notice
14 Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
Medway Council
HELP US TO STOP FRAUD Know someone who is claiming benefit fraudulently? Report it.
Free 24-hour hotline: 0800 0837049Email: [email protected]
Paying made easyLet direct debit take care of your council tax
15twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
Setting it up couldn’t be easier.1. Get you bank details ready 2. Phone us on 01634 332222 and by the end of the call it’s done.
• NO REMINDERS• NO HASSLE
• NO WORRIES
It,s easy to keep us informed onlineOur convenient online service enables you to:• notify us of a change of address;• apply for housing and council
tax benefit; • appeal against a housing or council
tax benefit decision;
• claim council tax discounts;• claim council tax exemptions;• apply for a disabled banding relief;• report changes in your
circumstances.
Simply go to www.medway.gov.uk/mrbs
16
Your council tax 2012/13
What can I do if I’munhappy about the bandthat my property is in?You can appeal against the valuation by writing to The Listing Officer, Council TaxSouth, Valuation Office Agency,Second Floor, 1 Francis Grove,Wimbledon, London SW19 4DTor phoning 03000 501501. If you andthe Valuation Office Agency can’tagree on the appeal, it will bereferred to a valuation tribunal.
While my band is beingreviewed, do I have topay council tax?Yes. If an appeal is successful you willbe refunded any overpaid council tax.
Can I get help in payingmy council tax?If you have a low income or areunemployed you may be able toclaim council tax benefit. Pleasecontact the council tax benefit team using the details on the backcover of this booklet.
While my benefit claim is being dealt with, do Ihave to pay council tax?Yes. If your claim is successful you willbe refunded any overpaid council tax.
I live alone. Do I still haveto pay the full council tax?No. Single households can claim adiscount of 25 per cent.
Are there any otherdiscounts available? In some cases a discount can beclaimed by a household with two ormore adults. For example, if they includefull-time adult students; trainees;apprentices; 18/19-year-olds at school;those receiving or providing care;severely mentally impaired; long-termhospital patients; certain categories ofprisoners; members of visiting forces;certain international bodies and closedreligious orders. If your property hasspace for someone to use a wheelchairor facilities for use by a disabledperson, such as an extra bathroom, youmay also be entitled to a reduction.
Your questions answered
Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay
17
Medway Council
Are there any exemptionsfrom paying council tax?Yes. Even if the property is furnished,you may not need to pay council tax if every adult in the property is a full-time student, under-18, orseverely mentally impaired. Claimsmust be made when the property isfirst occupied for one of these uses. You may not need to pay council taxfor self-contained annexes. To qualifythe property must be occupied by an elderly or disabled relative of thefamily in the other part of the building.Elderly means aged 65 or over whiledisabled includes those with visual,hearing or speech impairment, or witha physical or mental disorder.
Can discounts/exemptions bebackdated?Normally, we will only considerbackdating a discount/exemption to 1 April of the preceding year. In all cases there must be a goodreason why your application is lateand you must supply the relevantinformation/evidence.
How do I appeal against the council’s decision to award/not award adiscount/exemption?To appeal you must write to MedwayCouncil at the address on the backcover of this leaflet. You can thenappeal to a valuation tribunal, if at theend of two months:■ we have not made a decision;■ we do not accept your argument;■ we make a change you don’t
agree with.
You should submit your appeal inwriting to: Valuation Tribunal,Whitechapel Office, 2nd FloorBlack Lion House, 45 WhitechapelRoad, London E1 1DU
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
Did you know?You can pay your counciltax online any time atwww.medway.gov.uk/pay
Your council tax 2012/13
Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay18
Can the council charge what it wants forcouncil tax?No. Each year the governmentindicates what it considers to be anexcessive increase. If a councilincreases its council tax above thisfigure it will trigger a localreferendum. If the local electoratevotes against the increase thecouncil will have to revert to a counciltax level that is compliant.
Can the council choosewhat to spend money on?There are some services that thecouncil has to spend money on – it has no choice – that’s what thegovernment tells councils to do tomeet central targets. For example,spending on schools. There are otherservices where the council candecide how much it wants to spendand how much it can afford, forexample leisure centres and libraries.The council finds out what isimportant to residents and then itdecides what to spend.
What else is included inmy council tax bill?Your bill also includes charges forservices that the council doesn’tprovide itself, like police and fireservices, and, if you live in a ruralarea, a charge by your parish council.There are 11 parishes in Medway.
Does Medway Councilget to keep moneyraised through counciltax from the police, fireservice and parishprecepts?No. The total that will be raised fromcouncil tax in 2012/13 is £117.6million,of which Medway Council will get £99.1million. The remaining£18.5million goes to the police, fireservice and to individual parishes. If you don’t live in a parish, you don’t have to pay a parish charge,but everyone pays for police and fire services.
19
Medway Council
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medway Council
Key services provided by other authoritiesThe table below highlights the key services provided by authorities other thanMedway Council.
Kent & MedwayFire & Rescue Authority
Kent Police Authority is an independent body thatoversees Kent Police. We make sure there is anefficient and effectivepolice service that includes:
■ Responding to crimes,incidents, and calls forassistance
■ Investigating seriousoffences includinghomicide
■ Proactively investigatingserious and organisedcrime
■ Preventing road trafficaccidents
■ Working with partneragencies to addresslocal problems in yourneighbourhood
■ Responding to fires andother emergencies
■ Rescuing people fromroad traffic collisions
■ Helping people stay safein their own homes
■ Providing fire safetyadvice and support tovulnerable people
■ Helping local businessesprotect themselves fromfire
■ Educating young peopleabout road safety
■ Maintains localassets, includingallotments; common lands; burial grounds; play areas; tennis courts; litter bins; seats and ponds
■ Parish councils are consulted on all planningapplications affectingtheir area
Parish council
20 www.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk twitter.com/PoliceAuthority
Overseeing your policing Kent Police Authority is an independent body made upof 16 members – a mix of local people and councillorswho hold Kent Police to account. We set the policecouncil tax, appoint the Chief Constable, monitor policeperformance, and set policing targets for the Force.
The Authority and Force are entering the second year of a savings planto find £50million during four years. Policing services will continue tobe maintained and frontline services and neighbourhood policing arekey priorities.
‘The county now has three policing divisions – West, North, and East – and anew appointment system has been introduced to enable victims of crime tosee an officer at a time and place of their choosing.
‘It is also now even easier to contact the police following the introduction of101, a new easy to remember number, to call to report non-urgent crime,make a general enquiry or contact your neighbourhood officer. Each call onlycosts a maximum of 15p, no matter how long the call is or whether it is froma landline or mobile. This complements the existing 999 service whichshould continue to be used when life is in danger and crime is in progress.
‘There are changes ahead this year with the introduction of a directly electedPolice and Crime Commissioner in November. You will be able to vote for anindividual to hold Kent Police to account for the service it delivers.
‘Despite all the unprecedented changes in the policing service, the PoliceAuthority will continue to make absolutely sure that the taxpayers of thecounty get the best service from Kent Police.
Ann Barnes, Chair of Kent Police Authority
‘
’
Your council tax 2012/13
twitter.com/medway_councilGet up-to-date news from Medwaytwitter.com/medway_council medway.gov.uk facebook.com/pages/Kent-Police-Authority/197220152107 2221
Kent Police Authority
Contact usBy emailing [email protected] or alternatively write to: Kent Police Authority, First Floor, Gail House, Lower Stone Street,Maidstone, Kent ME15 6NBFind out more about our role in overseeing policing in Kent visitwww.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk or call 01622 677055
How Kent Police are funded £’000’s £/resident
Central Government grants 186,112 110.51
Additional council tax in 2011/12 69 0.04
Balance to be met by council taxpayers in 2012/13 88,519 52.56
Total 274,700 163.11
Budget breakdown – 2012/13 2011/12what we are spending money on £’000’s £’000’s
Police pay 155,830 161,166
Police pensions 32,596 34,151
Support staff pay 82,463 88,491
Other expenditure e.g. premises, computers, transport 46,696 48,923
Gross revenue budget (total of above) 317,585 332,731
Income generated by external parties outside of Kent Police -42,885 -44,931
Total £274,700 £287,800
Population in Kent 1,684,100
22 twitter.com/kentfirerescuewww.kent.fire-uk.org
Kent Fire and Rescue Service - There when you need us
Where your money goes
For just over £1.30 a week (for a BandD property) – the price of a Sundaypaper – Kent Fire and Rescue Serviceprovides you and your family with around-the-clock, 365 days a yearservice. We not only fight fires, butdeal with a huge range of otheremergencies from road trafficcollisions, floods and explosions tochemical accidents. We also delivernumerous community and fire safetyinitiatives to help reduce the risk offires in both homes and businessesand prevent road traffic accidents.
Last year we:■ Dealt with 31,000 emergency 999
calls – answering 97% of them within20 seconds
■ Responded to nearly 19,000incidents including 5,921 fires
■ Reached nearly 90% of fires in lessthan ten minutes
■ Dealt with 900 road crashes■ Carried out 10,000 home safety visits,
fitting 16,000 smoke alarms in someof the most vulnerable households
■ Educated over 73,000 children andyoung people on fire and road safety
Plans for the futureOver the last three years we havecarried out a county-wide review toimprove emergency cover by ensuringthat fire stations are in the best place to support the risks in the community. We will now implement the changesnecessary as a result of this review,which will include building new firestations where they are needed.
We have started reviewing the vehiclesand equipment we use to tackle firesand deal with other emergencies.
Revenue budget 2011/12 2012/13 £’000 £’000
Employees 58,438 58,532
Running expenses 16,333 14,197
Capital financing 2,120 7,018
Transfer to reserves 679 1,205
Gross revenue expenditure 77,570 80,952
Service income -5,836 -7,534
Net budget requirement 71,734 73,418
Financed by:
Formula grant 28,417 29,804
Collection fund surplus 129 120
Council Tax 43,188 43,494
71,734 73,418
Your council tax 2012/13
23facebook.com/kentfirerescue www.kent.fire-uk.org
Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority
We think we can improve theeffectiveness and efficiency further byintroducing new innovative equipmentand ways of working.
Over a quarter of the 999 calls wereceive are to automatic fire alarms,nearly all of which are false alarms.This disrupts business and buildingusers, takes firefighters away fromgenuine emergencies and is a waste of your money. We are thereforeencouraging alarm owners to managetheir equipment more effectively. From April 2012 we will not go out tomost of these alarms unless we thinkthere is an actual fire. More informationabout these changes can be found onour website.
Our Budget for 2012/13This Authority did not increase theCouncil Tax last year and is notincreasing it this year (2012/13) whichmeans that it has been able to claimadditional grant funding from theGovernment. This has enabled theAuthority to continue investing in itsinfrastructure programme. However,budget growth of nearly £4m isrequired to meet commitments andpressures arising from inflation,providing additional fire safety adviceto the business community as well assupporting the building programme offive new fire stations over the next fewyears. In support of this, the Authority
has reviewed its emergency responseprovision, changes to the way we workand back office processes to enable£2.1m of savings and efficiencies to be made.
Why spending has changed
Revenue budget £’000
Revenue budget 2011/12 71,734
Pay, prices and commitments 1,413
Service developments 2,614
Savings -2,165
Transfer to general reserve 48
Council Tax freeze grant – re 11/12 1,079
Council Tax freeze grant – re 12/13 -1,305
Revenue budget 73,418
The capital budget for 2012/13 is£11.6m, which reflects investment in 21new fire engines, updating informationand control systems and supports thestart of the construction of five new firestations.
This booklet can be made available in other formats andlanguages, phone 01634 333333.
If you want to speak to someone in your own language about this booklet please ring 01634 335577
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Get in touchIf you have any comments or questions about the information provided, pleasecontact the appropriate authority:
Medway CouncilVisit: www.medway.gov.uk/mrbs Phone: 01634 332222Email: [email protected] Write to: Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham,
Kent, ME4 4TR
Kent Police Authority Visit: www.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk Phone: 01622 677055Email: [email protected]. police.ukWrite to: Kent Police Authority, Gail House, Lower Stone Street,
Maidstone, Kent ME15 6NB
Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue AuthorityVisit: www.kent.fire-uk.org Phone: 01622 692121Email: [email protected] to: Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, Headquarters,
Straw Mill Hill, Tovil, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6XB
If you have a question about paying your council tax bill orclaiming a council tax benefit, please contact Medway Council.