Council passes budget to support Stevenage residents
Stevenage Borough Council’s budget for 2024/25 sets out how it can continue to run most of its services by taking a number of key decisions.
The council has balanced its finances to deliver essential services to residents and continues with its regeneration ambitions, housing priorities and safer co-operative neighbourhoods.
Councillor Richard Henry, Leader of Stevenage Borough Council said:
“Our council has faced significant reductions in government funding since 2010/11. Stevenage and other local authorities are experiencing tough times. We are affected by rising inflationary costs but are focused on continuing to maintain financial security through our transformation programme and commercial and insourcing strategy, so we can deliver vital front-line services. Supporting our most vulnerable residents, housing the homeless, delivering help and emergency funding to businesses and keeping our public spaces safe. Sadly, we have identified we need to save over £1million each year, due to the gap between cost pressures and increases in funding.
“I would like to express a huge thank you to all council staff who carried out this fantastic work. Our members and officers have worked hard together to strive to ensure that we continue to have sufficient money to run our services whilst at the same time responding to our residents’ top priorities such as regenerating our town, building more social and affordable homes, and reducing anti-social behaviour.
Council Tax paid to Stevenage Borough Council for a Band C property will go up by £6.18 (2.99%) per year. Each C household will pay Stevenage Borough Council £212.68 for 2024/25. This is the equivalent of just £4.09 per week or 58 pence per day to fund services from Stevenage Borough Council.
Hertfordshire County Council will see an increase of 4.99%, and for the Police and Crime Commissioner, 5.46% for their share of the council tax. This means a Band C Council Tax in Stevenage for 2024/25 will be £1,934.24 or £161.19 per month which represents an overall increase of 4.82%. Although we collect Council Tax from our residents, we only keep just over 11% of that total sum. The Police and Crime Commissioner and Herts County Council receiving £223.11 and £1,498.45 respectively.
