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Council tax up to cushion cuts


COUNCIL taxes are to rise across the board. KCC has confirmed it will be in- creasing its tax on households by 1.99% post-April, to help cushion the effect of cutbacks on services. The county council has to save


£81m this year and plansto trim £13m off care services for the elderly and £3.6m off the highways budget. It also expects to save £2m from


the closure and re-organisation of children’s centres and £7m from putting up the costs of the Kent Freedom Pass for schoolchildren. Over three years, the county coun-


cil has to save £270m and it hopes this year’s increase – which will put an additional £20 a year on bills for homes in Band D – will generate £10m. Kent’s Police and Crime Commis-


sioner Ann Barnes has announced the police precept will increase by 1.99%, as will the fire service pre- cept, which rises for the first time in four years. Manyof the borough’s 43 parishes


have also found themselves budget- ing for a price hike, but all are en-


deavouring to stay within govern- ment guidelines. Any increase above 2% would require a referen- dum.


Maidstone Council has already carried out a public consultation on its plans to increase next year’s council tax by 1.99% – 36p a month. The borough has to save £5.5m in


the five years up to March 2019. It has plans to save £1,163,000 in 2014- 15 and £600,000 in later years but it still has to find £3,762,000 over the five years up to March 2019. The council’s plans for 2014-15 in-


clude raising £104,000 from income sources such as planning applica- tion fees, sales of green garden re- fuse bins and commercial rents. The borough council also plans to


make savings of £800,000 in the cost of contracts for services and £259,000 in further reductions to staffing costs. Itwas due to make its final decision on March 5. The meetingwas postponed from February 26 to give the council’s fi- nance chief more time to obtain in- formation from the other precepting authorities.


downsmail.co.uk Samaritans’ new director


THE Samaritans of Maidstone andWeald has appointedMaggie Jones as the new director of its branch in Grecian Street, Maidstone. The voluntary role of director is appointed


for a three-year term and is responsible for managing the quality of the services provided by the team along with ensuring that suffi- cient volunteers are recruited and trained. Maggie (pictured), who takes over fromWill Merrifield, has volunteered as a listening Samaritan at the Maidstone branch for more than five years and has been a deputy director for three years during that time Maggie said: “We are always looking for


more help and run frequent information ses- sions for potential volunteers. Details are on the branch web site at www.samaritans.org/maidstone.” To contact the Samaritans, call 01622 674444, email Jo@samaritans.org or go to 48 Grecian Street, Maidstone, ME14 2TS.


Support for young families


A GENEROUS donation from a company in East Farleigh and local fundraising has meant families and children in Maidstone have been supported through hard times. Help a Maidstone Child has been raising funds to improve the lives of local children since 2011. Dandelion Time, based in West Farleigh, is one of five voluntary groups supporting children and young people which received maintenance grants from HaMC in 2013/14 – the others being M4S, Mencap, Cobtree Playschool and


Home-Start. Mountwell Engineering, East Farleigh,was one of several organ- isations that supported the charity; others included TheVine Church in Loose and music groups, Energise Community Choir and Innominata. Natalie Smith, HaMC panel member, said: “We are pleased to have supported 11 families – for ex- ample we replaced a washing ma- chine and carpeted a bedroom. HaMC will open for applications


again in April. For details go to www.helpamaidstonechild.org


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