I just wanted to take the time to talk about why this is happening, what has led to this, and what this will mean for our villages.

Why is East Herts Council so stretched?

It’s a mixture of two reasons. Firstly, government funding to councils like ours has been slowly cut over the past decade - here in East Herts, we only get about 2/3rds of what we used to.

Secondly, the previous Conservative administration in the council chose to borrow millions of pounds for big projects, such as Hertford Theatre and Hartham Leisure Centre, over the space of just a few years, which means that we have been left with lots of debt. With interest rates going up and up over the past year or so, this has only meant that we have been left in even more debt, and this debt continues to grow.

What needs to be done to balance the books?

The Council's Medium Term Financial Plan, published by the previous Conservative-led administration on 1st March 2023, showed that annual savings of just over £6 million were needed by the end of 2026/27 in order to balance revenues and expenditure. To put that in perspective, the council has a total spend of around £17 million annually. Since March, inflation and other costs have continued to rise, while the council has little reserves to fall back on.

Why can't you just raise council tax?

Councils can’t raise taxes by that much. A council can only increase council tax by up to 2.99% unless it holds a hugely expensive referendum. At this stage the new Green-Liberal Democrat administration has said that they don’t want to pursue that approach and has instead outlined its priorities as:

• To continue to press council teams to eliminate waste and to operate more efficiently.

• To ensure that new contracts represent best value for money.

• To seek new and innovative solutions to the council’s financial challenges.

• To call on the government to properly fund local authorities.

What does this mean for our villages?

It is very likely that changes to services and increases to fees and charges may be required to clear the deficit and produce a balanced budget over the next 4 years. These are not decisions the council wishes to make, but they may be necessary to avoid the drastic measures required should the council be unable to set a balanced budget.

You might’ve seen news recently from councils like Birmingham, Woking, Croydon and Thurrock not being able to balance their budgets, in effect becoming bankrupt, and cutting back all spending to the bare essentials. This is the last thing we want to happen here, so we need to make headroom to ensure this from happening.

I strongly believe that the council’s rising costs should not fall onto residents, may of whom are struggling financially. I know that the new joint administration will do their best to solve the issues inherited from the previous Conservative administration, but I promise that I will be a strong voice in the council to make sure any decisions do not disproportionally impact our villages.

Since being elected, I have always promised to be open and transparent to everyone. I think it's right that everyone should know about the financial situation the council is in. If you have any questions, please do let me know.