Proposals to spend £3.4m on services, along with £3.5m of additional savings are being put forward as part of City of York Council's proposals to balance its budget for next year. These proposals are designed to protect frontline services, whilst investing in key areas highlighted by residents as their priorities or where additional demands need to be met.

The 2003/4 budget proposals will go before the council's Executive on Monday, January 20, before going on to the full council meeting on 30 January. This meeting will discuss the level of council tax for the council's budget and a further meeting of full council on February 20 will set the final level of council tax, taking into account the charge from North Yorkshire Police and the parishes in the city.

In relation to the cost of council services, the report suggests pegging any rise in this element of the council tax to 5.9%. This translates to an average Band D council tax bill of £824 p.a., a rise of £46 on last year. However the vast majority of council taxpayers in York will pay below that amount, as the most common property is within Band C. This translates to £732 per year.

Councillor Dave Merrett, leader of the council, said: "These budget proposals are designed to respond to residents and their needs. They gave us their first indications of what their priorities were back in the Autumn - and, if required, we'll be making any final adjustments to these proposals in light of our current consultation with our panel of residents, business stakeholders and feedback from the public.

"We have not had a good settlement from the government this year but with savings of £3.5m, we will be able to invest in important service areas without affecting frontline services. And at the same time we're proposing to restrict the council's element of the council tax rise to 5.9% - after residents told us to peg any rise to 6% and invest in key services."

He continued: "The result is that the level of council tax for York continues to be substantially below the national average and as such we continue to provide good value for money for the services we deliver."

The savings identified in the budget proposals include £1m in savings on administration and support services; £1m through alternative funding methods, such as new grants; income generation of £750,000; schools and education savings of £430,000.

The savings will also help remedy some of the problems in the education budget where unavoidable rises in wages and pensions, inflation and pupil numbers exceed the 4.3 per cent increased funding from the government.

There is investment proposed of £3.4m, covering a range of important service areas. These cover proposals for investment in social services to enable elderly people to stay in their own homes longer (with significant contingency funding available to cover uncertainties in this area); tripling the number of households benefiting from kerbside recycling to three quarters of the city.

Further investment proposals include improvements in road maintenance and measures to improve street cleansing; investment in youth activities and play areas; extending concessionary fares and tokens to men between 60 and 65.

There is also a proposal to top-up education and schools by approximately £0.75m.

There are currently a series of meetings underway which are looking at specific budget proposals in each of the executive member areas, which will be held in public. These discussions and public feedback will be considered when the council determines its specific priorities for the new council year and meets to decide the level of the city's budget on January 30 and again to set the overall council tax level, including the charge for police services and parishes, on February 20.

Residents are also getting a separate chance to comment on the budget for police services across North Yorkshire when the North Yorkshire Police Authority's roadshow is staged in York at the Novotel, Fishergate, at 7.30pm on Wednesday, January 22. Part of the council tax goes directly towards policing in York - approximately ten per cent of an average bill. This amount is set by the police authority, not by the council, and the police are considering increases of between 35 and 74 percent.

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