|
Council Leader Takes Hard Line About Money Owed to the
Council
The Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Cllr. Andrew Eade,
has said the authority "will take a firm, but fair, line when it
comes to clawing back money owed to the council."
The Leader made this commitment following the release of figures
that show approximately £1.7 million was owed to the authority as
outstanding debt. It also comes at the same time when the
collection of Business Rates for the year 2007/08 was almost 100%
(99%).
Approximately £1 million of the outstanding money is owed to the
Adult & Consumer Care department, often from a legal charge on
properties, which cannot be collected until the properties are
sold.
For the year 2007/08 the collection of Council Tax was 97.50%,
up on the previous year (97.40%).
Speaking about money owed to the council, Cllr. Andrew Eade
said:
"While money owed to the council is very low when you take into
account our overall budget is around £400 million, it is none the
less an important issue.
"By not collecting money that is owed to us, or individuals not
paying their council tax bills, this ultimately this takes money
away from services and this can have a real impact.
"The authority will take a firm, but fair, line when it comes to
clawing back money owed to the council. There are, of course,
certain sensitivities around some cases and we will work with these
individuals, but for others who choose not to pay their debt, we
will take every action possible to ensure we get what is
owed." |