MK Council’s bloated reserves have remained at £200 million, despite the Labour and Liberal Democrat Council plunging residents into another Council Tax rise that will leave residents worse off.
Last year, MK Council promised to reduce reserves to £161 million by 31st March 2022, however, figures show that the reserves stash will remain around £200 million.
The upcoming budget will include a 3.75% increase in Council Tax, meaning the average household will be paying an eye-watering £1,900, £500 more than they were in 2014, when the Labour Council came to power.
And now despite cuts to services in recent years that include bus services being dropped and weekly recycling collections facing the chop from 2023, research has revealed that MK Council are still stashing millions of taxpayer’s cash.
Local Conservatives have criticised the Council for hoarding taxpayer’s money at a time where many households are feeling the pinch with the cost of living on the increase.
Cllr Allan Rankine, the Conservative Group’s Finance Spokesperson, said:
“The Labour and Liberal Democrat Council are smashing taxpayers with another council tax increase that will hurt families across Milton Keynes.
Not only are households paying more, they’re now receiving less with weekly recycling collections being cut and crucial bus services across the city removed.
They promised to reduce reserves to £110 million by 2025 but we have no faith this will be delivered.
The stashing of reserves in Council coffers represents a lack of confidence in delivering big projects on time and on budget. Residents’ money is not working hard and that is not acceptable.”
