Residents have been promised an improvement in their town's appearance after a sharp rise in council tax.
From April, Witham Town Council will increase its precept - the portion of council tax paid by Witham residents to the town council - from £38.86 to £45.58 a year for a typical band D property, a 21 per cent increase.
An opposition councillor branded the rise "disgraceful," but the Labour administration said it equated to an average increase of 13p a week, taking the average weekly cost to 88p per household.
Town council deputy leader Phil Barlow (Lab, Chipping Hill and Central Ward) said: "We were elected specifically on a manifesto commitment of acquiring the River Walk and Whetmead and caring for them better than the district council has been able to do.
"The average extra cost will be 13p a week for a greener, cleaner town."
But Conservative town and district councillor Michael Lager called the increase "disgraceful" and said a district or county council would be capped if they tried to raise their precept by a comparable percentage.
Published Thursday January 15, 2004
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