The following letter was sent to the residents of the Curnock Estate:
“Dear Resident,
Following the consultation on Camden’s budget that was held between September and November last year, I am writing to update you on the decisions that have been taken by the Executive regarding Camden’s budget for 2008/09.
Our decision to increase Camden’s share of Council Tax to 2.5% was given the final go-ahead at a Council meeting on 5 March. The decision means the average (Band D) household will pay a total of £30.83 more next year. The increase is equivalent to 59 pence per week. This increase was below the rate of inflation and was made possible through efficiency savings made by the Council worth £13.7 million. This is equivalent to £146 for every home in the borough.
The responses you made to the Your Camden budget consultation questionnaire were enormously useful and your views were considered by the Executive as part of the decision-making process for next year’s budget.
Alongside comments on Council Tax the main issues that emerged from the consultation were providing more activities for young people; spending more on services for vulnerable residents, making Camden attractive and meeting environmental challenges. These points have been reflected in the final decisions.
For example, £600,000 extra will be spent on young people to improve their playgrounds and youth projects, including £50,000 to provide more weekend activities across the whole borough; £2 million extra will be invested to help vulnerable people with mental health needs; and £250,000 will be put into a revolving energy fund that will make Council buildings more energy efficient.
The resources to fund these improvements will come from efficiency savings made as part of the Council’s Better and Cheaper programme. This will improve the efficiency in the way the Council does things while continuing to provide services that residents want and need.
If you have any further thoughts about the budget process and the decisions that have been made, please do feel to contact me at the above address. Alternatively, you may look on the Council website www.camden.gov.uk for further information.
I hope that you will continue to contribute to future Council consultation through our monthly magazine, Your Camden.
Yours sincerely
Janet Grauberg
Executive Member for Resources”
The original document can be found here.