I am appalled by Tory controlled Test Valley Borough Council’s decision to increase our council tax by over 4% (see previous post). This comes at a time when the majority of Andover’s residents are lucky if they get any pay increase at all.

Listening to the debate at the council meeting what came across was that the increase could be imposed without fear of sanctions so they’d do it. The decision means the council loses £60,000 of government grants to keep council tax down. At the same time councillors voted to put a further £1.6 million tax payers’ money into reserves to fund future vanity projects.

TVBC already holds over £76 million in the bank and has for years used the interest from that money to fund services. Those days are gone and the Tory leadership can no longer balance the books without imposing increases on Andover’s residents. Two years ago they promised to freeze parking charges only to put them up a year later. What lies in store next year?

Almost every other council in Hampshire has frozen charges. If the county council can freeze charges then so should TestValley. The arrogant assertion by one councillor that this is “a small increase, soon forgotten” is disgraceful.

The increase was supported by just 21 of the borough’s 48 councillors. The bill must be paid by every one of the borough’s taxpayers. Councillors should look after the interests of those taxpayers. They have failed miserably.