Calls to make council tax cheaper for some of the poorest Mancunians have been voted down. The Lib Dems' proposal to increase the maximum discount on council tax bills in Manchester from 82.5 pc to 85 pc has been rejected.
Councillors also voted against a proposal to put an extra £1m into the budgets for pothole repairs and the maintenance of gullies. The proposals would have been paid for by spending £1.9m of cash reserves held by Manchester council.
But Lib Dem leader John Leech, who proposed the budget amendments, said spending more on road, pavement and gully repairs now would save the town hall money in the future. He also claimed that raising the council tax discount to 85 pc would more than double the support the poorest residents receive.
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The local authority is already reviewing the council tax support scheme but any increase to the discount would not be applied in the next financial year. Coun Leech argued that the move should be brought forward by issuing a rebate to all households who would be eligible for the additional discount.
It comes ahead of council tax rising by a 4.99 pc from April - costing Band A properties an extra £50 a year - with a further increase of at least £13.33 set by mayor Andy Burnham which affects all Greater Manchester households. Speaking at a council meeting on Monday (February 27), Coun Leech argued for more support to help the most vulnerable during the cost of living crisis.
He said: "While for a lot of people this may not be a lot of money, for people who are the least well off, it's a significant amount of money."
Labour councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, who is the executive member for finance at Manchester council, said that households which receive council tax support will benefit from an extra £25 off their bills next year. This means that those receiving the maximum council tax support available - which is currently a discount of 82.5 pc - would end up paying less over the next financial year.
However, the £150 council tax rebate which was paid last year will no longer be available next year. Coun Akbar said that the town hall will also continue supporting the most vulnerable Mancunians using other pots of funding.
He said that the local authority has invested £100m into the city's highways over the last five years with an extra £15m to be spent on road and pavement repairs as well as gully cleaning next year. He also said that the council hopes to clear the backlog of pothole repairs caused by Covid by this summer.
Council leader Bev Craig said that the town hall does not have lots of money set aside and takes a 'prudent' approach to spending its reserves. She also argued that increasing council tax support could have the knock-on effect of making those who receive it ineligble for other benefits and support schemes.
She added: "We are doing as best we can when times are really difficult for our residents to make sure we're fulfilling our statutory duties and delivering a balanced budget. But we're doing it in a way that helps Manchester people."
The Lib Dem budget amendment was defeated by four votes to one at a resources and governance scrutiny meeting on Monday (February 27). The budget for next year - including council tax - will be set on Friday (March 3).
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