Council Tax Increase - To pay for Police Scameras!
Discussion
Just got my latest council tax bill through, jumped from £700 to £930, in it there is a leaflet explaining what the money is for.
A massive £114 of the increase is for the police. Which is fine as we need more police on the beat, but no they are reducing the amount of police on the beat from £21million to £15 Million and increasing costs on Traffic Calming / Enforcement (Their Words) from £7million to £16 Million. (these figures are approximate)
Now this annoys me, in 1972 there was 1 policeman for every 750 civilians, today there is 1 policeman for every 350 civilians, yet crime of all types is on the up, but are they takling it with more bobby's? No they are getting lardy ar5es (no offence to any of the traffic cops on here) to sit in their lovely warm cars taking pictures of other drivers breaking outdated speed restrictions on non accident predictive roadways.
I am not against speed cameras in the right location or under the right circumstances, but I wan't crime tackled on all fronts not just car drivers.
It is really annoying........I wan't my money back.
>>> Edited by martin hunt on Thursday 3rd April 12:51
A massive £114 of the increase is for the police. Which is fine as we need more police on the beat, but no they are reducing the amount of police on the beat from £21million to £15 Million and increasing costs on Traffic Calming / Enforcement (Their Words) from £7million to £16 Million. (these figures are approximate)
Now this annoys me, in 1972 there was 1 policeman for every 750 civilians, today there is 1 policeman for every 350 civilians, yet crime of all types is on the up, but are they takling it with more bobby's? No they are getting lardy ar5es (no offence to any of the traffic cops on here) to sit in their lovely warm cars taking pictures of other drivers breaking outdated speed restrictions on non accident predictive roadways.
I am not against speed cameras in the right location or under the right circumstances, but I wan't crime tackled on all fronts not just car drivers.
It is really annoying........I wan't my money back.
>>> Edited by martin hunt on Thursday 3rd April 12:51
Remember this come election time. Vote the fascists out. Doesn't matter who they are - vote for the other guy. Voice your displeasure loudly. Drop ABD leaflets on your road along with a note saying THEIR local COUNCIL is spending 8 million of Speed Cameras and did they *really* think that was the best use of the money...
Good point, Don.
Certain environs round this neck o'th' woods must be amongst the most litter plagued zones on the planet (the deviants on the council can't be arsed clearing it up/dissuading the local urchins from vomitting forth, etc) so I have little guilt in following your suggestion.
We iz had enuff, innit?
Certain environs round this neck o'th' woods must be amongst the most litter plagued zones on the planet (the deviants on the council can't be arsed clearing it up/dissuading the local urchins from vomitting forth, etc) so I have little guilt in following your suggestion.
We iz had enuff, innit?
Just got my latest council tax bill through, jumped from £700 to £930, in it there is a leaflet explaining what the money is for.
A massive £114 of the increase is for the police. Which is fine as we need more police on the beat, but no they are reducing the amount of police on the beat from £21million to £15 Million and increasing costs on Traffic Calming / Enforcement (Their Words) from £7million to £16 Million. (these figures are approximate)
Hi Martin do not want to be rude but you should read the papers in more detail. The police are getting no new funds out of this.
As back ground all local authorities and the police get most of there funding from central government via grants, this obviously originally comes from general taxation. They only get about 30% of their funding from local tax payers.
Now this year the government, yes nice Mr Blair and nice Mr Brown, decided that the amount of money they would give to well run local authorities, many in the south of England and run by conservative or liberal councils, should be reduced and the balance given to badly run councils many in the north run by labour councils, oh and quite a lot should also be kept back to be poured into various black holes.
So if say your police budget is £100 and normally £70 comes from central government and £30 from council taxes, but this year only £65 comes from local government then council tax has to go up £5 i.e. 16% to make up the difference. Whatever happens the police still only get £100.
>> Edited by tonybav on Thursday 3rd April 16:39
Nonetheless, Tony, and irrespective of the redistribution of funds to the feckless and inept that this loonytunes government is embarkked upon, the documentation says that they're reducing funding for police headcount and increasing funding for talivans & twatsos.. Which is really the nub of the matter, is it not?
CarZee said: Nonetheless, Tony, and irrespective of the redistribution of funds to the feckless and inept that this loonytunes government is embarkked upon, the documentation says that they're reducing funding for police headcount and increasing funding for talivans & twatsos.. Which is really the nub of the matter, is it not?
That is true and I do not support it, but part of the reason is headcount are expensive and Talivans etc, run by civilians are much cheaper. To just provide the same service most police forces need £103 this year, to fund wage rises and the fact the police pension scheme, is an unfunded scheme, and is costing much more than was expected. The police budget for almost all counties is very tight and most will have less real money to spend in 2003 than in 2002.
[rant]
In Hants the the police budget has gone up by something like 12% but the government increase is in the order of 3%, not unreasonable me thinks. However the difference is being made up by increases on the council tax payers (percept?). Why the f don't they set their budget on their actual income, allowing for inflation
, because all that has happened is they've set large budgets, didn't get the money from central gov and now are fleecing joe public who has no say in the amount they spend 
.
What fcuks me off is that a large proportion of this increase is for the 'pay and pensions' of the BiB. Whilst I don't begrudge(sp?) anyone a living wage, the majority of the increase is for pensions only. Not only that they have also made a large 'future' provision against their pensions in this years bill in it as well
(remember that when the figures come out next year). I'm sorry if you want that, then pay for the fusker yourself, don't expect the council tax payers to subsidise you for the rest of your natural .
[/rant]
Harry
PS I didn't see any mention of the savings made by the reduction in the fire service bill by not having to pay them whilst on strike
, btw who pays for the fire service
In Hants the the police budget has gone up by something like 12% but the government increase is in the order of 3%, not unreasonable me thinks. However the difference is being made up by increases on the council tax payers (percept?). Why the f don't they set their budget on their actual income, allowing for inflation
, because all that has happened is they've set large budgets, didn't get the money from central gov and now are fleecing joe public who has no say in the amount they spend . What fcuks me off is that a large proportion of this increase is for the 'pay and pensions' of the BiB. Whilst I don't begrudge(sp?) anyone a living wage, the majority of the increase is for pensions only
. Not only that they have also made a large 'future' provision against their pensions in this years bill in it as well (remember that when the figures come out next year). I'm sorry if you want that, then pay for the fusker yourself, don't expect the council tax payers to subsidise you for the rest of your natural . [/rant]
Harry
PS I didn't see any mention of the savings made by the reduction in the fire service bill by not having to pay them whilst on strike
, btw who pays for the fire service the police shouldnt get a fecking penny from any of us until they get off their fecking arses and start arresting people for offences other than speeding,i mean,when was the last time you saw more than a couple of cops on foot in a day?,or even saw a street robber nicked?i would love to see a return to having the 'local bobbies' on the beat....might stop them getting so bloody fat!my old man joined the police after he served in the navy,he was a 'black rat'(alperton traffic div.) and even now when he see's people in the street who knew him then,they still say hello and ask how he is,can you say the same about todays cops....i dont think so.when i was growing up we had respect for the local police,now i only have contempt for you and your so-called 'law' ..........if you cant do the whole job you are being paid for you can bloody well expect to have peoples respect,it has to be earned.put up with the scameras you already milk,put up with last years model of squad car that you have raced to **** and fecking lump it!,why should us tax payers fork out for your new bloody cars anyway?i dont get a new car every year and i do my fecking job so why the 
should you when you all seem to do yours 'half arsed'?!?!?!
*im sorry if you are a genuine,hard working cop.....but this is how i and many others see you.
should you when you all seem to do yours 'half arsed'?!?!?! *im sorry if you are a genuine,hard working cop.....but this is how i and many others see you.
I am the first to be critical of the Police for their apparent disinterest in any real crime nowadays. However, on this occasion, there are mitigating circumstances why it is an expensive couple of years for the Police. This is on top of the blindingly obvious stealth tax of reducing central government funding, directly causing us all to pay more local tax.
A few years back, Gordon Brown sold off the radio spectrum which is currently accommodating the emergency services radio, the bulk of which is used by the Police. This government has subsequently decreed that the 2.5 billion pound cost of providing a completely new digital radio network has to come out of the normal operating budget for each Police force.
I am amazed that this whole issue has been so low profile that most people are not aware of it. At the time of the announcements in 2000 it was suggested that this 2.5 billion was the equivalent of cutting more than 5000 policemen across the whole country.
A few years back, Gordon Brown sold off the radio spectrum which is currently accommodating the emergency services radio, the bulk of which is used by the Police. This government has subsequently decreed that the 2.5 billion pound cost of providing a completely new digital radio network has to come out of the normal operating budget for each Police force.
I am amazed that this whole issue has been so low profile that most people are not aware of it. At the time of the announcements in 2000 it was suggested that this 2.5 billion was the equivalent of cutting more than 5000 policemen across the whole country.
deltaf said: You really must try harder Cortinaman if you wish to be as angry as i am....
im not an angry person,just peeved off with the way us drivers are all classed as criminals just because we like to get to the places we want to goto before we die of old age from having to sit behind the seemingly endless parade of numpty's in their cars that are hogging the middle and outside lanes for no genuine reason,paying outrageous petrol taxes whilst being zapped by a friggin lazer by plod who is in his hidey-hole behind a large bush(i often wonder what the police will get next,maybe the cars being replaced by challenger tanks,covered with a cammo-tent and the lazer guns replaced with r.p.g's?)and in this case,i dont see why we should further subsidise the police when the scamera scheme they are already running is coining it in.we all pay enough out for the right to drive our cars within the laws requirements (i.e insurance,mot and tax) yet the speeder is targetted more than the w*****s that drive without insurance(this includes without tax as without tax you have no insurance),p**sheads or t.w.o.c'ers.i see cars without tax all the time yet i havnt seen a crackdown in road tax evasion for a good few years(last one i saw was in cowley,middx in 1999,just before i moved to essex) yet i see mobile scameras all over the place,mostly in places where revinue is easy to collect (just inside the 30/40 zones after an nsl)where the cars are still slowing down.
i now see the police and the arseholes in those mobile vans as a dose of thrush......irritating c***s!
Council Tax is totally immoral in my view. Why should my contribution to local services be based on the value of my house. A big house does not necessarily mean you are a high income earner - there are plenty of pensioners out there still living in large houses being stiffed.
My 2003 Council Tax bill is ₤2170. I simply don't see the logic of charging me more to have my bins emptied, send my kids to school or put bobbies on the beat than someone who happens to live in a smaller house. When I go to Tescos they don't ask me how much I earn or how big my house is and charge me accordingly. My car servicing costs the same as it does for someone in a two up two down terrace. It seemes complete bollocks to me.
The worst part is discovering that a chunk of the increase this year is to pay for topping up the pension funds of council employees following stock market falls and Browns ₤5B/year grab of pension fund tax credits. What about my pension, company and private - there is no way I can recover the losses. Why should I have to fund the council employees?
Now there is talk of a revaluation and the introduction of more tax bands. I can guarantee that the vast majority of us will end up paying even more if that happens.
My 2003 Council Tax bill is ₤2170. I simply don't see the logic of charging me more to have my bins emptied, send my kids to school or put bobbies on the beat than someone who happens to live in a smaller house. When I go to Tescos they don't ask me how much I earn or how big my house is and charge me accordingly. My car servicing costs the same as it does for someone in a two up two down terrace. It seemes complete bollocks to me.
The worst part is discovering that a chunk of the increase this year is to pay for topping up the pension funds of council employees following stock market falls and Browns ₤5B/year grab of pension fund tax credits. What about my pension, company and private - there is no way I can recover the losses. Why should I have to fund the council employees?
Now there is talk of a revaluation and the introduction of more tax bands. I can guarantee that the vast majority of us will end up paying even more if that happens.
This wouldn't be the Tetra system would it...? I read somewhere that cops have been getting headaches, dizziness and such after moving onto this new system. Did they pick a frequency that's slowly cooking our cops...?
No doubt they'll throw it all away in a year or two after a few people get baked and sue...!
No doubt they'll throw it all away in a year or two after a few people get baked and sue...!
steve-p said: I am the first to be critical of the Police for their apparent disinterest in any real crime nowadays. However, on this occasion, there are mitigating circumstances why it is an expensive couple of years for the Police. This is on top of the blindingly obvious stealth tax of reducing central government funding, directly causing us all to pay more local tax.
A few years back, Gordon Brown sold off the radio spectrum which is currently accommodating the emergency services radio, the bulk of which is used by the Police. This government has subsequently decreed that the 2.5 billion pound cost of providing a completely new digital radio network has to come out of the normal operating budget for each Police force.
I am amazed that this whole issue has been so low profile that most people are not aware of it. At the time of the announcements in 2000 it was suggested that this 2.5 billion was the equivalent of cutting more than 5000 policemen across the whole country.
cortinaman: yep, hear what you're saying & totally agree.
The whole game is about making driving as unpleasant and as slow as public transport - that way it's easier to give up your freedom.
Their laws suck, not the enforcers. The cops are only making the best of a bad job, and we really should take it out on 'em.
C
The whole game is about making driving as unpleasant and as slow as public transport - that way it's easier to give up your freedom.
Their laws suck, not the enforcers. The cops are only making the best of a bad job, and we really should take it out on 'em.
C
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff