Report by Director of Resources

The Director of Resources submitted a report seeking approval of the calculations for determining the Council Tax requirement for the year 2019/20, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The report also sought approval to set the Council Tax amounts for each property valuation band in the Borough including precepts from the Thames Valley Police and Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service.

The following motion was moved by Councillor Lovelock and seconded by Councillor Page and CARRIED:

Resolved –

(1)           That the following amounts that had been calculated for the year 2019/20 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 be agreed:

(i)      £396,276,100 being the estimated aggregate expenditure of the Council in accordance with section 31A (2) of the Act;

(ii)     £305,339,705 being the estimated aggregate income of the Council for the items set out in section 31A (3) of the Act;

(iii)     £90,936,395 being the amount by which the aggregate at (i) above exceeds the aggregate at (ii) above, calculated in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as the Council’s Council Tax Requirement for the year (Item R);

(iv)     £1,627.23 being the amount at (iii) above (Item R) divided by the Council’s tax base (Item T) calculated in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year, representing an increase of 2.99% in the Council’s own tax;

(2)           That that the net tax base of 55,884 Band D equivalent properties (being the gross tax base adjusted for an assumed collection rate) used for setting the budget requirement for 2019/20 that was agreed by Full Council on 22 January 2019 be noted; and

(i)             that the Band D charge for Reading Borough Council as calculated in (1)(iv) above be allocated to Band D equivalent dwellings as shown in section 4.4 of the report; and

(ii)           that including the Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Thames Valley Police precepts Council Tax by property valuation band be as set out in section 4.7 of the report.