THE Government says that councils have a "moral duty" to freeze council tax at a time when household budgets are under so much pressure.
The vast majority of councils across London are doing precisely that to help local people cope in these difficult times.
Households right across Croydon are feeling the pinch with costs for heating, housing, food and travel soaring way above inflation and many people worried about their job or income.
It all makes our Conservative council's decision to force through a 1.85 per cent council tax hike look very out of touch with reality as their increases are due to come into effect this month.
But the council say they have no option.
They say they are forced to dip their hands into Croydon residents' purses and wallets because there are vitally important things to spend the money on.
How surprising, then, to find out that the council's spending priority is not schools, older people, police or street cleaning – but spending millions of pounds on brand new office furniture for the shiny new glass-and-steel headquarters they've built for themselves in the town centre.
If you're a Croydon council-tax payer, you might not be pleased to know that every penny of the extra money the council's taking off you will be spent on swish new office furniture to make council chiefs' lives a little more comfortable.
Never mind the bills you're struggling to pay; they've prioritised themselves instead.
They could have decided to move the existing office furniture out of their old headquarters and into the new one at a fraction of the cost.
But no, Croydon Council have decided to help themselves to your hard-earned cash and spend it on themselves.
Quite simply, they should be ashamed of themselves.
