THE COST of CCTV in Ilkley could put the precept up by £10 per household if the town council was to take on the scheme.
A petition calling for the installation of CCTV in the town was rejected by Bradford Council after it was told the cost would be £100,000 rather than the original estimate of £60,000.
At a town council meeting this week Mayor Steve Butler told members the cost per household would be £10 - based on the £60,000 figure - if Ilkley decided to pay for the scheme itself.
Councillors will be looking at whether Ilkley should take on responsibility for installing CCTV - but concerns were raised at the meeting about the on-going commitment of funding the scheme and the need to assess future financial obligations.
Cllr Joanne Sugden said they needed to have a wider debate with input from the district council about future funding.
Councillors also questioned how much support had been shown for the scheme.The meeting was told that neither of the two petitions had been well supported despite the fact that everyone had been given the chance to sign.
The meeting heard that an independent contractor had come forward with an offer to install CCTV cheaply.
Councillors agreed the issue needed looking into in more detail.
Copyright: The Wharfdale Observer - Jim Seton July 4th 2018