A FORMER Mayor of Evesham has said he would support a ‘moderate’ rise in council tax, as long as it had the backing of town residents.
Coun Mark Goodge raised questions as to how future projects lined up in the Town Plan will be paid for.
A typical band D property in Evesham pays about £4 a month to the Town Council, but Mr Goodge said a slight increase in council tax may be the way to get additional funding for projects.
“I’d support a moderate rise in council tax, provided that it had general support from the town’s residents,” he told the Observer.
“It’s important that we strike the right balance between running an efficient and cost-effective council and being able to fund the things that residents would like us to do.”
Coun Goodge posted the question in ‘Evesham Questions’ on Facebook which sparked a wide range of comments in support and against the former mayor’s idea.
“There are a lot of very good ideas coming from Evesham residents, and there are projects in the Town Plan that may require additional funding.
“So there may well be justification for a council tax increase. But we do need to make sure that we retain the support of our taxpayers if we go down that route.
However, the town councillor said that Evesham residents should be consulted if council tax is to go up in the future.
“If we were considering a rise of more than the usual to cover increased costs, then yes, I think that some form of public consultation should be part of that,” he added.
