We Love Garston

Council tax will be frozen for 2010/2011, Hertfordshire County Council has announced.

Residents will not be asked to pay any more than they currently do for services such as schools, roads, social care and fire and rescue provided by the council. 

The budget identified efficiency savings of £31m in 2010/11, with a further £39m of efficiencies over the subsequent three years. However, the medium term financial plan shows a potential funding 'gap' of £74m by 2013/14, which the council plans to fill from part of the savings from its Business Transformation programme launched in December.

The council has also injected £6.3m of funding from its reserves to continue road improvements. The budget also includes nearly £90m of investment in a school expansion programme to respond to the rising demand for primary and secondary school places, in addition to the Building Schools for the Future and Academy projects already underway.

David Lloyd, executive member for resources and economic wellbeing, said: "Despite Hertfordshire receiving the lowest rise in central government grant of any county council in the country - while having to absorb the extra costs of an ageing population, more people with learning disabilities and rising school pupil numbers - we have not passed the burden on to the hard-pressed council taxpayer.”