Review needed into ‘Special’ Council Tax for rural areas

Rugby Liberal Democrats are proposing that a cross-party task group is set up to review the Special Expenses scheme because Rugby town residents are paying more Council Tax when residents in the Parish areas are not.

The Special Expenses scheme was introduced April 1993 on the premise that residents in Parish areas should not pay for services that are exclusive to the town (urban) area. The initial services included under the scheme in 1993 were:

• Parks, recreation grounds and open spaces, Cemeteries, Allotments (remain in, but are no longer a budget item and are run by allotment associations)
• Bus shelters (removed from the scheme in 2010/2011)
• Town Centre CCTV and Management (added to the scheme in 2011/2012)

This scheme was calculated on a property-by-property basis depending on the Parish boundaries rather than Ward boundaries. For example, the properties in Admirals & Cawston Ward, that form part of town area, would see a £26.89 reduction, whereas those that fall under Cawston Parish would see a £43.97 increase (based on a Band D equivalent).

Commenting, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse, said:

"Under the Special Expenses scheme, it looks like the town residents in the urban areas are paying to keep Council Tax lower in rural areas. We think this is unfair and we will be challenging the Conservatives, who run Rugby Borough Council, for a fundamental review of this unfair charge."