Surrey County Council Lib Dems

Below is a table of how Surrey Councillors voted on the 2.99% Council Tax rise at this morning's budget meeting.

The main points are:

All Liberal Democrat members were present and voted against the 2.99% increase.

All Resident/Independent members were present and either abstained or voted against the increase.

I request a recorded vote on the administration's budget for 2012/13.

I will be voting against the administration's Budget, because an almost 3% increase in Council Tax is excessive. It is time for all County Councillors to stand up and be counted and to vote against the Budget.

While there is no escaping that to protect services over the coming years there has to be an increase in Council Tax. The administration's plans are in excess of what is required to balance the books and are an unnecessary burden on Surrey's council tax payers in the recession.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for action not words in repairing Surrey's roads.

Cllr Stephen Cooksey, the Liberal Democrat Transportation Spokesperson has tabled a written question to today's meeting of the County Council regarding failings in the new highways maintenance contract.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for county councillors from all parties to support them in voting against the excessive 2.99% Council Tax rise being proposed by the Conservative Leader and Cabinet to the County Council budget setting meeting on Tuesday.

Cllr Hazel Watson, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council, says:

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for the Conservative administration to show restraint in increasing Council Tax in the 2012/13 Budget.

Cllr Hazel Watson, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council, says:

"The legacy of years of the Conservative administration at Surrey County Council, by their own admission, failing Surrey's residents means that they now have almost no choice but to increase Council Tax.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for the Conservative administration to abandon their plans to replace professional staff in 10 of the County's libraries with volunteers, rather than continue with a costly legal fight against Surrey residents in the High Court.

Following the High Court order on Friday by Hon. Mr Justice Wyn Williams, that the County Council should 'take no irrevocable steps towards implementing the Community Partnered Libraries (CPLs) decision impugned in these proceedings until further order of this court', Cllr Hazel Watson, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council, said:

Following the announcement by the Conservative Leader of Surrey County Council that he is proposing a 2.99% rise in Council Tax, Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are demanding to know why councillors have been denied papers to properly scrutinise the proposals by the Conservative administration for the County's 2012/13 Budget.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are asking "Where is Conservative-run Surrey County Council's Budget?"

Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition Cllr Hazel Watson says: "With only three weeks to go until Surrey County Council's 2012/13 Budget setting meeting on 7 February, the Conservative administration has not yet even published a draft budget for consultation.

The Government introduced the Feed-in-tariffs (FiT) to encourage early take up of renewable technology in April 2010. Surrey County Council finally approved a scheme to install solar panels on 25 buildings in July 2011. Yet when the Government announced a cut to the FiT rate, they still had not installed a single solar panel.

Conservative controlled Surrey County Council could have kept bus passes starting at 9.00 am and still underspent by £150,000 on this year's local buses budget!

£351,000: The amount saved by Conservative controlled Surrey County Council by cutting concessionary bus passes for the elderly and disabled from a 9.00 am start to a 9.30 am start.