LIB DEMS LAUNCH "PEOPLE'S BUDGET"

4.23.39pm GMT Tue 21st Feb 2006

What are we getting as a result of this year's 4.75% increase in the Council Tax bill

KCC Leader Paul Carter has accepted a proposal from Trudy Dean, Leader of the KCC Liberal Democrat Group, for a "People's Budget" document to be produced.

Trudy told yesterday's meeting of Kent County Council in Maidstone that residents of Kent needed to know what they were getting as a result of this year's 4.75% increase in the Council Tax bill.

She said " We should be answering the questions which ordinary people ask about services which matter to them...Questions about how many more road repairs are going to get done or how many new books are going into libraries, or how much schools are getting per pupil. Ten years ago ( under Lib Lab control ) we used to produce the answers, but now none of this information is available to the public...and even councillors budget papers won't give the answer. For example, this year's cut of £3.5 million pounds in road resurfacing is buried on the last line of page 108 of the budget book! "

Paul Carter Leader of the Council told Trudy he thought her suggestion was "an admirable idea" and suggested that work began straight away.