THIS year's council budget will deliver the Labour administration's pledge to freeze council tax and keep frontline services intact, council leader Tony Newman said on Tuesday.
He made the claim at the council tax meeting of the cabinet that recommended acceptance of the budget to next week's full council meeting.
This year's budget contains growth of around £9 million combined with savings of £25 million.
It also states there will be capital investment over the next three years of £133 million in primary schools, £17 million in regenerating New Addington, £16 million in road improvements and £12 million in refurbishing Fairfield Halls.
The budget papers show that to help meet the savings, council staff numbers will be reduced by 71 in the coming financial year, with the possibility of more job losses emerging later.
The freeze on the Croydon element of the council tax means that the average Band D annual payment remains at £1,171.39.
And the slightly better news for council taxpayers is that the Mayor of London has reduced the precept he charges for Greater London Authority services by 1.34 per cent, resulting in overall bills in Croydon actually going down by 0.27 per cent.
Councillor Newman told Tuesday's meeting Labour had inherited a "fiscal shambles" from the previous Conservative administration.
He said: "Our priorities were to deliver a frozen council tax and protect frontline services and that is what we are doing."
Councillor Simon Hall, the cabinet member for finance and treasury, said the council was looking at transforming the way it operated in the light of the £100million spending pressures it faces over the next three years with the aim of "preserving and enhancing frontline services".
Councillor Tim Pollard, leader of the Conservative opposition, said: "There is a lot in this budget which looks familiar."
He said the Conservative group would save the majority of its comments until Monday's full council meeting.
