Published: Monday, 2nd March, 2009 4:00pm

'Last chance' to rescue chaotic council tax talks

by Adam Hewitt

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HOPEFULLY it will be third time lucky when councillors try to thrash out a deal on council tax tonight.

The hung Reading Borough Council has been completely deadlocked on setting a budget since last Tuesday, with none of the three parties willing to support either of the others to push a deal through. A second attempt on Wednesday failed despite a further five hours of talks. Tonight's meeting starts at 6.30pm in the Civic Centre.

Council leader Jo Lovelock said this afternoon: "I've been in discussions with both group leaders over the weekend and hope one way or another we can make budget which is realistic. I hope everybody understands that is our first duty. We have to have an agreement - it would be completely irresponsible not to do that. The Labour group understands that."

Tory leader Andrew Cumpsty said: "It seems extraordinary that given the closeness of Labour's budget and the Liberals' that they didn't have the wit and wisdom to find agreement. We want a zero percent council tax increase, we've been very clear about that."

Lib Dem leader Gareth Epps was not available for comment this afternoon, but in a letter sent to Cllr Lovelock on Friday, he said: "Clearly everyone must recognise that the council is now in a position of No Overall Control, and it is essential for more than one party to agree the budget. This therefore immediately highlights problems with the way information sharing has, or rather has not worked."

He said ‘budget option savings papers' had been given to the council's decision-making Cabinet, but not to the opposition parties, making it much harder to come up with a budget compromise.

Councillors' failure to reach a deal meant council tax bills could not be printed at the weekend - further delays could cost the council £60,000.

The council's resources director, Dave Peasley, told councillors he need to step in and use legal powers that would freeze all new spending, right down to fuel fill-ups.

He told them: "This would be extremely damaging to the services the council provides and to those people who depend upon them."

Only Labour and the Lib Dems have proposed budgets, with differences in spending priorities but virtually the same bill for the taxpayer.

On Wednesday night Labour changed their original budget proposal, which needed a 4.24% council tax hike, to include many Lib Dem wishes and a smaller 3.99% increase. But while the backbench councillors ate pizza, read magazines and told jokes, their leaders' negotiations fell apart at the last moment.

The Lib Dems wanted spending cuts to replenish dwindling balances but Labour said this could hit services.

The Tories stayed out of the real negotiations, sticking by their pledge to freeze council tax at 2008/9 levels. They have not said how they would save the £2.7m needed to do this, but have suggested a review of all council spending.