City council leader Andrew Roberts threatens to quit if budget fails

Councillors considered Andrew Roberts’ proposals to almost double the city council’s tax precept – a £94 annual rise for the average household – at a meeting on Monday.

Cllr Roberts said the increase was needed to cover the cost of the asset transfer, which will see the city take control of buildings and services including street cleaning, grass cutting, CCTV and the Market Place from Wiltshire Council.

He said there would be “no point continuing as leader” if his budget was rejected.

His remarks came after Conservative group leader Matthew Dean asked the council’s deputy leader Michael Osment if he would agree with Cllr Roberts’ plans to increase the precept, or resign.

Cllr Osment, leader of the Labour group, said he had made it quite clear that his party was going to reject any increase in the precept.

When urged again to resign, Cllr Osment said he would not play Cllr Dean’s “silly little games”.

At this point Cllr Roberts said that if anyone was to resign over the budget, it would be him.

His plan to increase the precept by almost 90 per cent was met with fierce opposition.

Cllr Roberts accepted it was a difficult situation but said it was wrong to do nothing.

“We need to be looking to the future, and while we had agreed we wouldn’t raise the precept, this was made with the condition that it would only happen if no extraordinary events came up. The asset transfer falls into that category.”

With the government considering capping parish council tax precepts, Cllr Roberts said this could be the city council’s only chance to make a decent precept increase.

All councillors other than Cllr Roberts and James Robertson voted against the budget proposal, prompting an emergency meeting to be called for last night, behind closed doors.

An extraordinary meeting, open to the public, is scheduled for Monday.

Members are being urged to work out a new proposal ahead of the full council meeting on January 23 when the budget must be set.