Council tax 2012

my ... provides more than 140 services council Find out inside how your council tax funds them

2012/13

Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue Authority

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Medway Council

About your council tax Medway Council, Kent Police Authority and Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority together deliver most of the local services in your area. If you live in an area with a parish council, it too provides some local services. This leaflet provides information from each of these authorities.

Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue Authority

The council tax you pay is collected by Medway Council on behalf of all the above authorities. The total amount is then divided between these authorities (see table on page four).

We have set our 2012/13 budgets in probably the most difficult global financial circumstances that we have ever faced. Demand for local services continues to increase as a consequence of an expanding population, high expectations and continuing economic challenges. At the same time central government has pledged to reduce the national deficit through reductions in public spending which inevitably has a significant impact on local government finances, as do rising prices.

Despite these demanding circumstances, and in light of the continuing financial difficulties facing many households, all of the three authorities have agreed that council tax should not be increased for the second successive year. This has required a fundamental look at the amount of tax payers’ money we spend to ensure services are as efficient as they can be and deliver excellent value for money. Inevitably this means that some services have had to be reviewed to balance the competing demands of increased spending pressures and reduced government funding/frozen council tax.

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Did you know?

Medway’s council tax is the lowest in Kent

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£107.86 £52.85

£746.10

£92.45

£45.30

Total for Medway residents*

Medway Council

Kent Police Authority

Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue Authority

C

£52,001 to £68,000

E £88,001 to £120,000

D £68,001 to £88,000 £120,001 to £160,000

F £160,001 to £320,000

G

£320,001 and above

£870.45

£60.40

£123.27

£994.80

£67.95

£138.68

£1,119.15

£83.05

£169.50

£1,367.85

£98.15

£200.32

£1,616.55

£113.25

£231.13

£1,865.25

£135.90

£277.36

£2,238.30

£34.90

Stoke (£19,000)

£35.98

High Halstow (£40,000)

£38.91

£21.55

Halling (£34,400)

St. Mary Hoo (£6,000)

£12.28

Frindsbury Extra (£46,000)

£8.07

£32.45

Cuxton (£50,640)

£39.29

£18.91

Cooling (£2,400)

St James. Isle Of Grain (£28,927)

£15.17

Cliffe & Cliffe Woods (£43,252)

Hoo St. Werburgh (£38,513)

£53.03

£40.72

£45.40

£45.83

£9.41

£41.98

£25.14

£14.33

£37.86

£22.07

£17.69

£61.86

£46.53

£51.88

£52.38

£10.76

£47.97

£28.73

£16.37

£43.27

£25.22

£20.22

£70.70

£52.35

£58.37

£58.93

£12.10

£53.97

£32.32

£18.42

£48.68

£28.37

£22.75

£79.54

£63.98

£71.34

£72.03

£14.79

£65.96

£39.50

£22.51

£59.50

£34.67

£27.81

£97.22

£75.62

£84.31

£85.12

£17.48

£77.96

£46.68

£26.61

£70.32

£40.98

£32.86

£114.89

£87.25

£97.28

£98.22

£20.17

£89.95

£53.87

£30.70

£81.13

£47.28

£37.92

£132.57

£104.70

£116.74

£117.86

£24.20

£107.94

£64.64

£36.84

£97.36

£56.74

£45.50

£159.08

If you live in one of the following parishes you have to pay the parish precept shown. This is added on to the figures above.

Total precept for each parish is shown in brackets.

Allhallows (£49,900)

H

*Totals shown exclude parish precepts.

£1,031.16 £1,178.47 £1,325.78 £1,620.40 £1,915.02 £2,209.63 £2,651.56

£883.85

House banding

B

£40,001 to £52,000

Up to £40,000

A

How much will I have to pay?

Medway Council

Where does the money come from?

In 2012/13 the money comes from:

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Government grants Fees, charges and other income Council tax Council tax freeze grant Use of reserves TOTAL

£352.3m £93.3m £99.1m £2.5m £1.5m £548.7m

What does the council spend money on?

Mostly on education and schools. This is like most other councils that have a responsibility for education. The next area that has a large amount spent on it is children’s social services and other services for the community, such as care for older people.

The cost of older people’s services is increasing because people are living longer.

Budget

Spend per day

Services for children

£200.4m

£549,000

Housing (including benefit payments)

£131.3m

£360,000

£88m

£241,000

Services for the environment

£52.9m

£145,000

Leisure and cultural services

£24.5m

£67,000

£54m

£148,000

(£2.4m)

(£7,000)

£548.7m

£1,503,000

Services 2012/13

Adult social services

Other council services Less: Better for Less efficiency programme Budget 2012/13

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Your council tax 2012/13

my council

...will help me achieve my potential

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MEDWAY HAS MORE THAN

Sure Start children’s centres in

115

Medway

PLAY AREAS

£15,000,000 of combined investment on remodelling and rebuilding

seven primary schools

82

primary schools

17 secondary schools

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Did you know?

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SPECIAL SCHOOLS

Medway schools celebrated their best ever GCSE results last year

Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay

Medway Council

my council

...helped us get on the property ladder

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MILES OF FLAGSHIP WATERFRONT REGENERATION

Did you know?

PROSPECTIVE HOMEOWNERS IN MEDWAY CAN GET A HELPING STEP UP ON THE PROPERTY LADDER WITH THE

FIRSTBUY SCHEME

ST MARY’S ISLAND award-winning housing development including a marina and shopping and entertainment complex

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Your council tax 2012/13

my council

...helps me be independent is a free, 24-hour, seven days a week counselling service for carers

FREE SWIMMING

Did you know?

Medway has a free outdoor gym at Rainham recreation ground designed to help over-60s stay fit

is available for over60s* to help maintain an active lifestyle

MEDWAY'S FIRST PURPOSE-

EXTRACARE HOUSING SCHEME OPENS

BUILT

IN GILLINGHAM IN APRIL AND WILL SUPPORT 60 PEOPLE

Telecare

24-HOUR INSTANT RESPONSE SERVICE TO HELP PEOPLE MAINTAIN INDEPENDENCE * And under-11s

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Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay Š Office for Disability Issues (www.odi.gov.uk)

Medway Council

my council

...keeps my neighbourhood clean, safe and green

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COMMUNITY OFFICERS ACROSS MEDWAY

Did you know?

Food waste in brown bins is collected every fortnight,

saving more than

£40 a tonne on disposal costs

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parks in Medway have received a

Green Flag Award

- the national standard for parks.

Capstone Farm Country Park, Riverside Country Park, The Vines, Hillyfields and Broomhill

You can help keep Medway clean, safe and green by

reporting environmental issues like flytipping and graffiti through the Love Medway: ■ website www.lovemedway.co.uk ■ Facebook page ■ phone app.

Or you can: ■ phone 01634 333333 ■ email customer.first@medway.gov.uk ■ text 07725 202020 with letters LM at the start, followed by details and location of the problem.

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Your council tax 2012/13

my council

...helps keep us entertained MEDWAY HOSTS

MORE THAN

28 DAYS OF FREE FESTIVALS AND EVENTS EACH YEAR

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FREE SWIMMING is available for under-11s and over-60s to maintain an

active lifestyle

Medway Park, £11million centre of sporting excellence and officially approved training venue for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

libraries

and 2 mobile libraries

Do you know? …about Medway’s 2012 Year of Celebration?

From the 200th anniversary of the Royal Engineers being based in Medway to Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it will be a momentous year.

Visit www.celebratemedway2012.co.uk for information.

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Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay

Medway Council

my council

...helps me with my business Members can benefit from help on complying with the law, independent recognition and increased trade The Medway 100 in 100 Apprenticeship Challenge has arranged more than

The Employ Medway programme has supported more than

100 600 apprentice placements with local businesses

people into work

MORE THAN

50

BUSINESSES HAVE SIGNED UP TO THE MEDWAY CITY CARD REWARD SCHEME, PROMOTING LOCAL TRADE

Did you know?

Get up-to-date news from Medway Council

The Medway economy is worth more than ÂŁ3.3billion per year

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Your council tax 2012/13

Key council services ■ Adult social services ■ Children and families, including education ■ Council tax benefit and housing benefit ■ Community safety ■ Economic development

■ Environmental services and licensing ■ Highways and public transport ■ Housing and health improvement ■ Leisure services ■ Libraries

■ Planning services ■ Street cleaning and parking ■ Trading standards ■ Waste collection and recycling ■ Waste disposal ■ Youth services

Paying for big, long-term projects As well as providing everyday services, the council will be investing more than £92million over the next three years in long-term projects such as improving roads, creating and maintaining jobs, schools and council housing. The money for these schemes comes from a number of sources, including borrowing, government grants and selling surplus assets.

The council spends more than £548million providing services to Medway residents. The table below illustrates how this spending is paid for, together with comparative figures for 2011/12.

2011/12

2012/13

£616.842m

£548.733m

Less: Gross income

(£233.149m)

(£241.962m)

Budget requirement

£383.693m

£306.771m

Less: Dedicated schools grant + formula grant

(£285.170m) (£207.691m)*

Gross revenue spending on council services

Council tax requirement excluding parishes Plus: Parish precepts Council tax requirement including parishes

£98.523m

£99.080m

£0.341m

£0.359m

£98.864m

£99.439m

* Decrease due to Medway academies now receiving funding

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Medway Council

Changes in costs of services The council plans to spend more than £548m providing services to residents.

This table shows how this is spent, together with comparative figures for 2011/12.

Services

Budget 2011/12

Budget 2012/13

Services for children

£275.231m

£200.394m*

Housing (including benefit payments)

£120.972m

£131.294m

Adult social services

£89.528m

£87.972m

Services for the environment

£52.978m

£52.922m

Leisure and cultural services

£24.717m

£24.541m

Other council services

£53.416m

£54.020m

Less: Better for Less efficiency programme Total spending Less: Income from charges, government grants etc

(£2.410m) £616.842m

£548.733m

(£518.319m)

(£449.653m)

£98.523m

£99.080m

Council tax requirement

How is my council tax worked out?

Each residential property is put into a valuation band. There are eight bands altogether according to the estimated market value, as at 1 April, 1991.

Band

Proportion of band D chargeable

Up to £40,000

A

6/9

£40,001 to £52,000

B

7/9

£52,001 to £68,000

C

8/9

£68,001 to £88,000

D

9/9

£88,001 to £120,000

E

11/9

£120,001 to £160,000

F

13/9

£160,001 to £320,000

G

15/9

£320,001 and above

H

18/9

Property value range

The council divides the amount of money it needs to raise by the number of properties in Medway.

This gives the amount each household pays. For example, in 2012/13 people with a property in band D will pay £1,119.15 (this is for council services only and doesn’t include the amount that is added on for police and fire services and charges by parishes). Charges for the remaining bands are a proportion of the band D charge.

direct from the Department for Education rather than Medway Council

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Your council tax 2012/13

Council tax data protection and fair processing notice Your personal information will be held and used in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Medway Council will use the information you have provided in connection with the administration of council tax. Medway Council is also under a duty to protect the public funds it administers and to this end may lawfully disclose information to other public sector agencies to: ■ prevent or detect benefits fraud and any other crime and/or to administer claims for non-payment of council tax; ■ to support national fraud initiatives – the council is required by law to participate in National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercises. Council tax information may be provided to the Audit Commission for NFI purposes and will be used for cross-system and cross-authority comparison for the prevention and detection of fraud; ■ to protect public funds in investigating misuse of public money.

The council also uses basic council tax information about you, e.g. name and address, in other areas of service provision if this: ■ helps you to access services more easily; ■ promotes the more efficient and cost effective delivery of services; ■ helps recover monies owed to the council.

The council will not use your personal data in a way that may cause you unwarranted detriment. Any disclosure of personal data shall be made in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

You are able to see a copy of the information held about you. For further information about this please contact the Data Protection Officer by phone on 01634 306000 or by email dataprotection@medway.gov.uk or visit www.medway.gov.uk/ councilanddemocracy/performanceandpolicy/dataprotection.aspx

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Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay

Medway Council

Paying made easy Let direct debit take care of your council tax Setting it up couldn’t be easier.

1. Get you bank details ready 2. Phone us on 01634 332222 and by the end of the call it’s done.

• NO REMINDERS • NO HASSLE • NO WORRIES

HELP US TO STOP FRAUD Know someone who is claiming benefit fraudulently? Report it.

Free 24-hour hotline: 0800 0837049 Email: fraudhotline@medway.gov.uk

It,s easy to keep us

informed online

Our convenient online service enables you to: • notify us of a change of address; • apply for housing and council tax benefit; • appeal against a housing or council tax benefit decision;

• claim council tax discounts; • claim council tax exemptions; • apply for a disabled banding relief; • report changes in your circumstances.

Simply go to www.medway.gov.uk/mrbs

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Your council tax 2012/13

Your questions answered What can I do if I’m unhappy about the band that my property is in?

While my benefit claim is being dealt with, do I have to pay council tax?

You can appeal against the valuation by writing to The Listing Officer, Council Tax South, Valuation Office Agency, Second Floor, 1 Francis Grove, Wimbledon, London SW19 4DT or phoning 03000 501501. If you and the Valuation Office Agency can’t agree on the appeal, it will be referred to a valuation tribunal.

Yes. If your claim is successful you will be refunded any overpaid council tax.

While my band is being reviewed, do I have to pay council tax?

Yes. If an appeal is successful you will be refunded any overpaid council tax.

Can I get help in paying my council tax?

If you have a low income or are unemployed you may be able to claim council tax benefit. Please contact the council tax benefit team using the details on the back cover of this booklet.

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I live alone. Do I still have to pay the full council tax?

No. Single households can claim a discount of 25 per cent.

Are there any other discounts available?

In some cases a discount can be claimed by a household with two or more adults. For example, if they include full-time adult students; trainees; apprentices; 18/19-year-olds at school; those receiving or providing care; severely mentally impaired; long-term hospital patients; certain categories of prisoners; members of visiting forces; certain international bodies and closed religious orders. If your property has space for someone to use a wheelchair or facilities for use by a disabled person, such as an extra bathroom, you may also be entitled to a reduction.

Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay

Medway Council

Are there any exemptions from paying council tax?

Yes. Even if the property is furnished, you may not need to pay council tax if every adult in the property is a full-time student, under-18, or severely mentally impaired. Claims must be made when the property is first occupied for one of these uses.

You may not need to pay council tax for self-contained annexes. To qualify the property must be occupied by an elderly or disabled relative of the family in the other part of the building.

Elderly means aged 65 or over while disabled includes those with visual, hearing or speech impairment, or with a physical or mental disorder.

Can discounts/ exemptions be backdated?

Normally, we will only consider backdating a discount/exemption to 1 April of the preceding year.

In all cases there must be a good reason why your application is late and you must supply the relevant information/evidence.

Get up-to-date news from Medway Council

Did you know?

You can pay your council tax online any time at www.medway.gov.uk/pay How do I appeal against the council’s decision to award/not award a discount/exemption?

To appeal you must write to Medway Council at the address on the back cover of this leaflet. You can then appeal to a valuation tribunal, if at the end of two months: ■ we have not made a decision; ■ we do not accept your argument; ■ we make a change you don’t agree with.

You should submit your appeal in writing to: Valuation Tribunal, Whitechapel Office, 2nd Floor Black Lion House, 45 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1DU

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Your council tax 2012/13

Can the council charge what it wants for council tax?

No. Each year the government indicates what it considers to be an excessive increase. If a council increases its council tax above this figure it will trigger a local referendum. If the local electorate votes against the increase the council will have to revert to a council tax level that is compliant.

Can the council choose what to spend money on?

There are some services that the council has to spend money on – it has no choice – that’s what the government tells councils to do to meet central targets. For example, spending on schools. There are other services where the council can decide how much it wants to spend and how much it can afford, for example leisure centres and libraries.

The council finds out what is important to residents and then it decides what to spend.

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What else is included in my council tax bill?

Your bill also includes charges for services that the council doesn’t provide itself, like police and fire services, and, if you live in a rural area, a charge by your parish council.

There are 11 parishes in Medway.

Does Medway Council get to keep money raised through council tax from the police, fire service and parish precepts?

No. The total that will be raised from council tax in 2012/13 is £117.6million, of which Medway Council will get £99.1million. The remaining £18.5million goes to the police, fire service and to individual parishes.

If you don’t live in a parish, you don’t have to pay a parish charge, but everyone pays for police and fire services.

Pay your council tax online at www.medway.gov.uk/pay

Medway Council

Key services provided by other authorities The table below highlights the key services provided by authorities other than Medway Council.

Kent & Medway

Parish council

Fire & Rescue Authority

■ Maintains local assets, including allotments; common lands; burial grounds; play areas; tennis courts; litter bins; seats and ponds

Kent Police Authority is an independent body that oversees Kent Police.

We make sure there is an efficient and effective police service that includes:

■ Parish councils are consulted on all planning applications affecting their area

■ Investigating serious offences including homicide

■ Responding to crimes, incidents, and calls for assistance

■ Proactively investigating serious and organised crime

■ Responding to fires and other emergencies ■ Rescuing people from road traffic collisions ■ Helping people stay safe in their own homes ■ Providing fire safety advice and support to vulnerable people ■ Helping local businesses protect themselves from fire ■ Educating young people about road safety

■ Preventing road traffic accidents ■ Working with partner agencies to address local problems in your neighbourhood

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Your council tax 2012/13

Overseeing your policing Kent Police Authority is an independent body made up of 16 members – a mix of local people and councillors who hold Kent Police to account. We set the police council tax, appoint the Chief Constable, monitor police performance, and set policing targets for the Force.

‘

The Authority and Force are entering the second year of a savings plan to find £50million during four years. Policing services will continue to be maintained and frontline services and neighbourhood policing are key priorities.

‘The county now has three policing divisions – West, North, and East – and a new appointment system has been introduced to enable victims of crime to see an officer at a time and place of their choosing.

‘It is also now even easier to contact the police following the introduction of 101, a new easy to remember number, to call to report non-urgent crime, make a general enquiry or contact your neighbourhood officer. Each call only costs a maximum of 15p, no matter how long the call is or whether it is from a landline or mobile. This complements the existing 999 service which should continue to be used when life is in danger and crime is in progress.

‘There are changes ahead this year with the introduction of a directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner in November. You will be able to vote for an individual to hold Kent Police to account for the service it delivers.

‘Despite all the unprecedented changes in the policing service, the Police Authority will continue to make absolutely sure that the taxpayers of the county get the best service from Kent Police.

Ann Barnes, Chair of Kent Police Authority

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www.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk

’

twitter.com/PoliceAuthority

Kent Police Authority

How Kent Police are funded

£’000’s

£/resident

Central Government grants

186,112

110.51

69

0.04

88,519

52.56

274,700

163.11

Additional council tax in 2011/12 Balance to be met by council taxpayers in 2012/13 Total

Population in Kent 1,684,100

Budget breakdown – what we are spending money on

2012/13 £’000’s

2011/12 £’000’s

Police pay

155,830

161,166

Police pensions

32,596

34,151

Support staff pay

82,463

88,491

Other expenditure e.g. premises, computers, transport

46,696

48,923

Gross revenue budget (total of above)

317,585

332,731

Income generated by external parties outside of Kent Police

-42,885

-44,931

£274,700

£287,800

Total

Contact us By emailing kpaenquiries@kent.pnn.police.uk or alternatively write to: Kent Police Authority, First Floor, Gail House, Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6NB Find out more about our role in overseeing policing in Kent visit www.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk or call 01622 677055

twitter.com/medway_council twitter.com/medway_council medway.gov.uk Get up-to-date news from Medway facebook.com/pages/Kent-Police-Authority/197220152107

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Your council tax 2012/13

Kent Fire and Rescue Service - There when you need us For just over £1.30 a week (for a Band D property) – the price of a Sunday paper – Kent Fire and Rescue Service provides you and your family with a round-the-clock, 365 days a year service. We not only fight fires, but deal with a huge range of other emergencies from road traffic collisions, floods and explosions to chemical accidents. We also deliver numerous community and fire safety initiatives to help reduce the risk of fires in both homes and businesses and prevent road traffic accidents.

Where your money goes Revenue budget

2011/12 2012/13 £’000 £’000

Employees

58,438

58,532

Running expenses

16,333

14,197

Capital financing

2,120

7,018

679

1,205

Transfer to reserves Gross revenue expenditure

77,570

80,952

Service income

-5,836

-7,534

Net budget requirement

71,734

73,418

28,417

29,804

129

120

43,188

43,494

71,734

73,418

Financed by: Formula grant Collection fund surplus Council Tax

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www.kent.fire-uk.org

Last year we: ■ Dealt with 31,000 emergency 999 calls – answering 97% of them within 20 seconds ■ Responded to nearly 19,000 incidents including 5,921 fires ■ Reached nearly 90% of fires in less than ten minutes ■ Dealt with 900 road crashes ■ Carried out 10,000 home safety visits, fitting 16,000 smoke alarms in some of the most vulnerable households ■ Educated over 73,000 children and young people on fire and road safety

Plans for the future Over the last three years we have carried out a county-wide review to improve emergency cover by ensuring that fire stations are in the best place to support the risks in the community.

We will now implement the changes necessary as a result of this review, which will include building new fire stations where they are needed.

We have started reviewing the vehicles and equipment we use to tackle fires and deal with other emergencies.

twitter.com/kentfirerescue

Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority We think we can improve the effectiveness and efficiency further by introducing new innovative equipment and ways of working.

Over a quarter of the 999 calls we receive are to automatic fire alarms, nearly all of which are false alarms.

This disrupts business and building users, takes firefighters away from genuine emergencies and is a waste of your money. We are therefore encouraging alarm owners to manage their equipment more effectively.

From April 2012 we will not go out to most of these alarms unless we think there is an actual fire. More information about these changes can be found on our website.

Our Budget for 2012/13 This Authority did not increase the Council Tax last year and is not increasing it this year (2012/13) which means that it has been able to claim additional grant funding from the Government. This has enabled the Authority to continue investing in its infrastructure programme. However, budget growth of nearly £4m is required to meet commitments and pressures arising from inflation, providing additional fire safety advice to the business community as well as supporting the building programme of five new fire stations over the next few years. In support of this, the Authority

facebook.com/kentfirerescue

has reviewed its emergency response provision, changes to the way we work and back office processes to enable £2.1m of savings and efficiencies to be made.

Why spending has changed Revenue budget Revenue budget 2011/12

£’000 71,734

Pay, prices and commitments

1,413

Service developments

2,614

Savings

-2,165

Transfer to general reserve

48

Council Tax freeze grant – re 11/12

1,079

Council Tax freeze grant – re 12/13

-1,305

Revenue budget

73,418

The capital budget for 2012/13 is £11.6m, which reflects investment in 21 new fire engines, updating information and control systems and supports the start of the construction of five new fire stations.

www.kent.fire-uk.org

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Get in touch If you have any comments or questions about the information provided, please contact the appropriate authority:

Medway Council Visit: www.medway.gov.uk/mrbs Phone: 01634 332222 Email: ctax@medway.gov.uk Write to: Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR

Kent Police Authority Visit: www.kentpoliceauthority.gov.uk Phone: 01622 677055 Email: kpaenquiries@kent.pnn. police.uk Write to: Kent Police Authority, Gail House, Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6NB

Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue Authority Visit: www.kent.fire-uk.org Phone: 01622 692121 Email: KFRSFinance@kent.fire-uk.org Write to: Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, Headquarters, Straw Mill Hill, Tovil, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6XB

If you have a question about paying your council tax bill or claiming a council tax benefit, please contact Medway Council.

This booklet can be made available in other formats and languages, phone 01634 333333.

G7050 02 12

If you want to speak to someone in your own language about this booklet please ring 01634 335577