THE leader of BCP Council insists the council is ‘leading nationally’ on council tax increases – despite its recommended four per cent rise being above the average.

The increase is made up of an amount not taken up last year for the social care precept, added to a one per cent social care precept for this year.

Neighbouring Dorset will be making a three per cent overall increase in its share of the council tax in April.

Cllr Drew Mellor says by not taking last year’s increase the Conservative administration has saved local council taxpayers £11m over two years and still allowed for investment in the area.

“Over two years we will deliver one of the lowest council taxes across the country,” he told Monday evening’s overview and scrutiny committee.

He said the proposed budget would put £25million extra into children’s and adult social care; £20m into the council’s ‘green futures’ fund and see assets re-used to provide an additional £54million of investment in the area.

More than 350 pages of budget proposals were examined by the scrutiny committee over a four-hour meeting.

Not all committee members were convinced by the Conservative group leader’s claims.

One, Cllr Mike Cox,  said the new strategy was ‘jiggery-pokery” and claimed making use of council assets to invest was a dangerous course to follow.

One public question at the start of the meeting suggested that with a difficult financial year ahead, because of fuel and National Insurance increases and rising inflation the council ought to consider a higher percentage increase in its council tax.

Cllr Lesley Dedman said residents had told her that the budget proposals were not what was expected and that a banker friend had told her that the suggestions went against prudent financial advice.

“My residents are worried by what is contained in this report. It seems to come down to borrowing to fund council tax and paying it back over more than fifty years,” she said.

Cllr Mellor said he believed that using the council’s assets to invest in services would ultimately deliver a low-tax environment.

He said that over 20 years the council would save £50million a year by making better use of assets.

Committee chair, Cllr Steve Bartlett, said he saw the risk increasing for the council: “Are we starting on a spiral of decline, of accumulation of debt, when we don’t really know what the outcome will be?” he said.

“It’s risky and it’s bold, but it’s not what people are used to…it un-nerves people,” he said, adding that he had never before seen a report where the chief financial officer placed red warning flags all over it.

Cllr Mellor admitted that the council’s stance was a step-change, altering the traditional approach by making use of the council’s assets to raise finance, rather than by directly increasing council tax to the maximum allowed.

He said the council was not selling assets, they would still be there in years to come, but was making better use of them.

He said the council has significantly less debt that other councils of its size and planned to lever more finance for the area by utilising assets the authority had to invest.

“It’s bold and it’s confident and it’s where we should be for one of the leading authorities in the country,” he said, claiming it was a sustainable long-term strategy.

Cllr Mike Cox, who admitted to preferring the tradition way of doing things, described the new approach as “dangerous” and “financial jiggery-pokery,” ignoring Government advice on the levels of council tax.

He said the council was not living within its means to the tune of £40 or £50million, under the current proposals – a view which the council leader rejected, arguing the authority was making better use of the assets it has, only selling off assets it had absolutely no need of.

“We are not selling of our assets, we are investing in our business,” said Cllr Mellor.