Providing value for money

Hull City Council delivers a massive range of services for the people of Hull.
The list seems almost endless. I could mention leisure centres, libraries and museums, or the many parks and green spaces which the council maintains across the city.
While these services are for the most part financed through Government grants, your Council Tax payments also make an important contribution. Council Tax is vital for the delivery of a whole range of front-line council services, from education and social services to waste management and housing.
As this magazine was going to press, the council was in the process of setting its budget for the coming year.
We are striving to provide value for money for the people of Hull by ensuring Council Tax increases do not exceed the rate of inflation, and that as many services as possible are maintained to their current levels.
Please look out for more information on the budget in a future Hull in print.
Meanwhile, providing value for money also makes sound environmental sense.
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting the newly-rebuilt Maybury Primary School in east Hull which boasts a range of energy-saving features, such as harvesting rainwater to use for flushing toilets, which saves the school money on its day to day running costs.
I want Hull to become known as a city that is reducing carbon emissions and playing its part in tackling climate change, and so I would like more energy-saving projects to be introduced in other parts of the city.
(You can read more on pages 24 and 25.)
On a different note, I am heartened that last year's Wilberforce 2007 commemorations hit home with the people of Hull.
More than 2,300 young people recently attended an anti-racism and anti-slavery music festival at Hull City Hall and I'm sure more Wilberforce events will take place this year, such is Hull's pride in its most famous son.
Finally, while many Hull residents celebrated New Year at the stroke of midnight on December 31, Hull's Chinese community will see in Chinese New Year, the year of the rat, on February 7.
I wish them all Kung Hei Fat Choi (that's Happy New Year in Chinese), and thank them for their contribution to the life of our city. Cllr Carl Minns Leader, Hull City Council

Cllr Carl Minns
Leader, Hull City Council