Dacorum residents used as 'cash cows', councillor claims
A councillor has claimed Dacorum residents are being used as “cash cows” by the borough council, which approved increases to fees and charges for 2025/26 last night.
Councillor Fiona Guest (Con) made the claim as the council’s budget was approved at a full council meeting on Wednesday (19 February), including increases to parking charges, green waste collection and garage rentals.
However, finance chief Councillor William Allen (LD) said the budget would “maintain high-quality services for our residents” against a “very unhappy” financial situation for councils across the country.
Green bin collections will rise by £5 per year, garage rentals are up by 15 per cent from £14.30 to £16.40 per week, and a range of parking charges will hit drivers increases that will bring in an additional £600,000 for the council.
Parking changes include, for example, a forty per cent increase in the cost of a two-hour stay at Wood Lane End car park in Hemel Hempstead from 50p to 70p, a 33 per cent increase in the cost of a two-hour stay at Lower Kings Road multistorey in Berkhamsted from £1.50 to £2, and an 87.5 per cent increase in the cost of a ten-hour stay at The Forge in Tring from £2.40 to £4.50.
Councillor Allen said: “The parking charges have been increased, yes, [but] there have been no parking charge increases for four to five years now, and the parking charges have been increased in keeping with the charges that are applied elsewhere.
“The council does have a duty to make the best it can from its resources and assets. This budget will achieve a further £1m of savings and income increases.
“In the past ten years, government grants have reduced by 57 per cent while inflation has risen by 38 per cent, putting local government into a very unhappy situation.”
He said that the 2.99 per cent rise in Dacorum Borough Council’s portion of council tax – the maximum allowed without a referendum – would mean the administration had “done all we can to protect Dacorum’s funding position for future years”.
The outgoing council leader, Councillor Adrian England (LD), said council tax makes up around 24 per cent of the authority’s funding, and the 2.99 per cent rise would be equivalent to £6.76 per year for the average household.
He continued: “48 per cent of the council’s income comes from fees and charges of all kinds. It’s simply unavoidable given what has been done to local government funding by governments of the last few years. It’s extremely hard to make the sums add up.”
Both Councillor Allen and Councillor England noted that the charge for green waste collections had been introduced under the previous Conservative administration.
The Conservative opposition leader, Councillor Andrew Williams, criticised the Lib Dems for “balancing the budget on the pockets of our residents”.
He said: “There is no attempt by the administration to make any significant, meaningful savings in our operating costs.
“It is not sustainable for the council or its residents to continue to believe that we can carry on without making necessary savings and evermore charge our residents more and more.
“That golden goose is coming to the end, and this administration doesn’t seem to have (…) got to grips with the need to make savings.”
Fellow Conservatives Councillors Guest and Edward Barradell raised concerns about the increase in green bin charges.
Councillor Guest added: “All through the budget we see fees and charges going up.
“It’s as if the people of Dacorum are being treated as cash cows, being milked for money”.
The budget passed with only 18 votes in favour and 23 abstentions.