COUNCIL Tax will not be raised next year unless it is the very last resort, says the new man in charge of the Forest of Dean District Council’s finances.

Cllr Bernie O’Neill has told the head officers at the authority to look at the budgets for their departments and find ways to raise more cash through different sources and initiatives.

But Cllr O’Neill, who has taken over the finance role from former councillor Roger James, said it will not be easy and the authority are unlikely to know until late this year how much they will get from Government funding to help them.

This year’s Forest of Dean budget, headed by Mr James in February, raised Council Tax right to the limit of 2.99 per cent without reaching three per cent which would have meant holding a referendum on it.

To do that, they had to dip into the authority’s reserves although leaving money there for unexpected problems, like natural emergencies.

Cllr O’Neill, the cabinet member for finance, business support and jobs, denied that the council are ‘broke’ but said they are facing a tough future.

He added: “Some money was taken out of the reserves last year but all councils have to have a certain level of reserves in case of emergencies.

“The situation we have got this year is, following on from the difficulties we faced last year, the Government have not yet told us what the financial settlement will be for the coming financial year."

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER