Families face council tax shock

Unless Rother council s money-men can find extra cash from other sources, chargepayers are facing three or four years of high rates. Stringent housekeeping is needed to stem the draining of the council s reserves, which have been used systematically to keep charges low.

Rother hopes to stop dipping into reserves by 2005/6, which means finding an extra 88,000 year on year. The council also has to meet the challenge of falling interest rates on its investments, the cost of restructuring the council and other unexpected commitments on its cash flow.

Dr Pav Ramewal, chief finance officer, said: Unless we can find some viable solutions there is a possibility of a higher than expected council tax.

Cllr Graham Gubby, leader of the council, said: Interest rates have dropped and costs have gone through the roof.

We have been satisfying the chargepayers demands for the services through help from the reserves, and there is an expectation of us to continue to do so. But we cannot keep dipping into the reserves at the rate we are doing. So we are now having to review and modify the situation.