LOCAL residents interested in debating the council tax issue are invited to a public meeting, to be held at Alton Community Centre on Wednesday, April 27. With the General Election now announced for May 5 and rising anxiety over Labour's plan for revaluation of properties prior to rebanding for council tax purposes from 2007, the future of the council tax bill is a matter of concern, particularly for those on fixed incomes. Hosted by the IsitFair council tax campaign, the Alton meeting will provide an opportunity for local people to air their views. Starting at 7-30 pm, the meeting will feature addresses by IsitFair leader and Headley pensioner, Christine Melsom and Winchester representative Mike Schofield, There will also be an opportunity to quiz parliamentary candidates Ruth Bright (Lib Dem) and Marjory Broughton (Labour) and it is hoped that a Conservative representative will also attend. This is just one of hundreds of meetings across the country hosted by council tax pressure groups like IsitFair and Christine Melsom is keen that members of the public the opportunity to come along. "The Welsh situation (where revaluation has already taken place with rebanding coming into effect on April 1) is so bad - the government has tried to persuade us that it won't make any difference here but they are wrong. "There are people in Wales whose properties have risen by four bands and the same thing will happen in England," warned Mrs Melsom. She is sceptical too about this year's council tax bills which, in election year, have been kept artificially low (below five per cent) largely because of a one-off payment from Westminster. "Despite this, Hampshire County Council had to make a lot of cutbacks to keep within government guidelines and I am led to believe they are anticipating at least a seven per cent increase next year. What with revaluation from 2007 and inflation, we could be in for two very heavy years," she said. Anyone wanting to find out more about the IsItFair Campaign can visit the website at http://www.isitfair.co.uk">www.isitfair.co.uk or simply come along on April 27 and join the debate.
