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> Why your Council Tax Bill is so high...
TallDarkAndHands...
post May 31 2011, 03:16 PM
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http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Pos...6a-293a1dbc0c6d

I'm not sure what the solution is but this is beoming a real problem.
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Bloggo
post May 31 2011, 03:21 PM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ May 31 2011, 04:16 PM) *
http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Pos...6a-293a1dbc0c6d

I'm not sure what the solution is but this is beoming a real problem.

The solution could be to ask council employees to increase their contribution to their own pension in the form of an AVC rather than rely on contributions from tax payers through council tax.


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TallDarkAndHands...
post May 31 2011, 03:24 PM
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QUOTE (Bloggo @ May 31 2011, 04:21 PM) *
The solution could be to ask council employees to increase their contribution to their own pension in the form of an AVC rather than rely on contributions from tax payers through council tax.


Agreed. Otherwise we will just end up paying all our Council Tax to pay for other peoples pensions and the services that are delivered by Councils will be poor / negligible. Apart from my bins getting collected once a week I'm not sure what else I get out of paying over a £1000 a year to WBC... angry.gif
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NWNREADER
post May 31 2011, 03:34 PM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ May 31 2011, 04:16 PM) *
http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Pos...6a-293a1dbc0c6d

I'm not sure what the solution is but this is beoming a real problem.


The issue of 'fair pensions' is a real chestnut. Not that many years ago 'private' pensions beat any public sector one into a cocked hat. Investment returns provided payouts way beyond what public sector schemes could. Then Mr Brown taxed the funds, and investment returns took a turn for the worse.
Public sector pensions are fixed by the salary on retirement; private ones are always dependant upon returns up to date of retirement, which may be much more, or less. When the returns are more, no-one complains about public pensions; when less, then envy kicks in like as now.

A lot of emotional waffle and fog gets in the way of proper assessment. Few private pension plans take 11% of pay from the employee, for instance.

Lastly, as mentioned in the article comments, some of the increase in LA staff is purely to service central government policies.
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TallDarkAndHands...
post May 31 2011, 03:39 PM
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QUOTE (NWNREADER @ May 31 2011, 04:34 PM) *
The issue of 'fair pensions' is a real chestnut. Not that many years ago 'private' pensions beat any public sector one into a cocked hat. Investment returns provided payouts way beyond what public sector schemes could. Then Mr Brown taxed the funds, and investment returns took a turn for the worse.
Public sector pensions are fixed by the salary on retirement; private ones are always dependant upon returns up to date of retirement, which may be much more, or less. When the returns are more, no-one complains about public pensions; when less, then envy kicks in like as now.

A lot of emotional waffle and fog gets in the way of proper assessment. Few private pension plans take 11% of pay from the employee, for instance.

Lastly, as mentioned in the article comments, some of the increase in LA staff is purely to service central government policies.


I'm not envious. I just think that nearly 25% of my Council Tax going into a Pension Pot for Public Sector workers is a little unfair when I'm trying to put enough in my own fund to allow me to retire! mellow.gif
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Strafin
post May 31 2011, 05:04 PM
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I've just had a bailiff around AGAIN for unpaid council tax - I showed him the receipts for the £1500 I paid last year and the £2000 for the year before (including fees ands expenses). He has gone away for now but I know that won't be the end of it. I hate paying anything to WBC because I feel that it is administered so badly and that I am paying for someone elses **** up all the time. I will now have to go down there again, taking time out of work and spend hours going through it all with some moron who will promise that it's all sorted pay the lot in full and then go through it all again next year. I am not envious of the pensions, I am downright furious that half these people even manage to stay in their jobs. I don't know how many workers WBC have in the administrative areas but I am sure they could back a lot of costs by employing competent people in the first place.
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Andy Capp
post May 31 2011, 06:40 PM
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QUOTE (Strafin @ May 31 2011, 06:04 PM) *
I've just had a bailiff around AGAIN for unpaid council tax - I showed him the receipts for the £1500 I paid last year and the £2000 for the year before (including fees ands expenses). He has gone away for now but I know that won't be the end of it. I hate paying anything to WBC because I feel that it is administered so badly and that I am paying for someone elses **** up all the time. I will now have to go down there again, taking time out of work and spend hours going through it all with some moron who will promise that it's all sorted pay the lot in full and then go through it all again next year. I am not envious of the pensions, I am downright furious that half these people even manage to stay in their jobs. I don't know how many workers WBC have in the administrative areas but I am sure they could back a lot of costs by employing competent people in the first place.

Have you gone to the CEO about it? Why do you get this hastle, I don't and I don't know anyone else who does either?
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JeffG
post May 31 2011, 06:53 PM
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What method do you use to pay your council tax if you get receipts? Sounds like you are just making work for yourself and not getting credited for the payments you do make. Mine just goes out of my bank account monthly for ten months of the year and I never hear a peep out of them.
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user23
post May 31 2011, 06:56 PM
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QUOTE (JeffG @ May 31 2011, 07:53 PM) *
What method do you use to pay your council tax if you get receipts? Sounds like you are just making work for yourself and not getting credited for the payments you do make. Mine just goes out of my bank account monthly for ten months of the year and I never hear a peep out of them.
Me too. Direct Debit seems to be the easiest way to pay for this sort of think.
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user23
post May 31 2011, 07:29 PM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ May 31 2011, 04:24 PM) *
Agreed. Otherwise we will just end up paying all our Council Tax to pay for other peoples pensions and the services that are delivered by Councils will be poor / negligible. Apart from my bins getting collected once a week I'm not sure what else I get out of paying over a £1000 a year to WBC... angry.gif
You can't have watched this then.
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NWNREADER
post May 31 2011, 08:43 PM
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Council Tax is surely to pay for all services the community requires, not just the ones we individually use? Further, there is an element of insurance - to provide services we may require at short notice.

I pay £1800 a year at the moment - £150/month, £40 a week. Given the range of activities I'd struggle to say that was not reasonable to provide the range of services in the whole WBC area. It is certainly not excessive, even though I would like it to be less. If central Govt cut out the impositions on local councils that cost so much yet give so little then we would all gain.
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TallDarkAndHands...
post Jun 1 2011, 07:43 AM
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I had a baliff knock on my door employed by WBC to pick up o/s monies on a previous owner of the houses unpaid bills. I had to show him my passport to prove that I was who I said I was. IF WBC issue summons against persons and those persons are no longer at that address and the present incumbent occupent owes no money then surely they should be telling these baliff's not to knock on innocent paid up peoples doors??? angry.gif angry.gif
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Bloggo
post Jun 1 2011, 07:49 AM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jun 1 2011, 08:43 AM) *
I had a baliff knock on my door employed by WBC to pick up o/s monies on a previous owner of the houses unpaid bills. I had to show him my passport to prove that I was who I said I was. IF WBC issue summons against persons and those persons are no longer at that address and the present incumbent occupent owes no money then surely they should be telling these baliff's not to knock on innocent paid up peoples doors??? angry.gif angry.gif

Yes, but that would need a joined-up, information sharing regime across the council departments that perhaps is a little lacking.


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Andy Capp
post Jun 1 2011, 08:37 AM
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Rather like the IR, I believe it is deliberate ignorance. There are a lot of sneaky people about.
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Strafin
post Jun 1 2011, 07:41 PM
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The wife phoned the council today and they are saying that our accounts are all clear so it looks like it will again take some sorting out. I think the problem for me is that we have moved quite a lot in recent years and did get into arrears when we first moved back to Newbury. I suspect that this means we have more than one record on the file and they (in the call centre) don't necessarily link them all together.
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Rosewinelover
post Jun 2 2011, 11:26 AM
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Council tax dos not just pay for our wheelie bins to be emptied...from the website:

it provides the major source of income for West Berkshire Council. The range of services that the local authority delivers to the community is broad and specialised. Some examples are:

•Education and Learning - adult and community learning, early years and childcare, schools and non-advanced education.
•Health and Social Care - services for children and young people and care services for the elderly and those with disability.
•Community and Living - community events, arts and leisure facilities and libraries.
•Transport and Streets - traffic calming, street naming and numbering, parking, road maintenance and cycle routes.
An amount collected with your Council Tax also pays for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Thames Valley Police Authority and your town or parish council.


I pay £118 a month and would not want to pay more so hope we do not get another increase next year.

I agree about paying into their pension fund, 25% did someone say? Bloody ****, didn't realize it was that much. Not happy about that!!! Funny how that is not on the website angry.gif
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NWNREADER
post Jun 2 2011, 12:40 PM
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QUOTE (Rosewinelover @ Jun 2 2011, 12:26 PM) *
Council tax dos not just pay for our wheelie bins to be emptied...from the website:

it provides the major source of income for West Berkshire Council. The range of services that the local authority delivers to the community is broad and specialised. Some examples are:

•Education and Learning - adult and community learning, early years and childcare, schools and non-advanced education.
•Health and Social Care - services for children and young people and care services for the elderly and those with disability.
•Community and Living - community events, arts and leisure facilities and libraries.
•Transport and Streets - traffic calming, street naming and numbering, parking, road maintenance and cycle routes.
An amount collected with your Council Tax also pays for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Thames Valley Police Authority and your town or parish council.


I pay £118 a month and would not want to pay more so hope we do not get another increase next year.

I agree about paying into their pension fund, 25% did someone say? Bloody ****, didn't realize it was that much. Not happy about that!!! Funny how that is not on the website angry.gif

Is that £118 for 10 months, or 12?
I believe there is no pension 'fund'. That is how private pensions operate - payments invested to create enough (they hope) to cover payments when they are needed. If the investment goes well the pensioner is quids in; when the government tax the earnings that is less so, and in bad years things get gloomy. Public service pensions tend to be 'schemes', where the employee is paid less for the duration of their employment on the understanding they will be paid a known amount after retirement - no more, no less. In both cases the employer makes a contribution, which can be 100% in private fund arrangements.
I wonder what the draw down for pension payments is with private company funds? Especially those with non-contributory arrangements for the employee........
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Rosewinelover
post Jun 2 2011, 01:39 PM
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QUOTE (NWNREADER @ Jun 2 2011, 01:40 PM) *
Is that £118 for 10 months, or 12?
I believe there is no pension 'fund'. That is how private pensions operate - payments invested to create enough (they hope) to cover payments when they are needed. If the investment goes well the pensioner is quids in; when the government tax the earnings that is less so, and in bad years things get gloomy. Public service pensions tend to be 'schemes', where the employee is paid less for the duration of their employment on the understanding they will be paid a known amount after retirement - no more, no less. In both cases the employer makes a contribution, which can be 100% in private fund arrangements.
I wonder what the draw down for pension payments is with private company funds? Especially those with non-contributory arrangements for the employee........


It is for 10 months.
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NWNREADER
post Jun 2 2011, 04:55 PM
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QUOTE (Rosewinelover @ Jun 2 2011, 02:39 PM) *
It is for 10 months.


£1180 a year? Less than £100/month or £25/week? Is that over priced for what is provided?
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Ron
post Jun 2 2011, 05:16 PM
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QUOTE (NWNREADER @ Jun 2 2011, 05:55 PM) *
£1180 a year? Less than £100/month or £25/week? Is that over priced for what is provided?

Not compared to mine it aint!
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