By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Gedling Borough Council has confirmed plans to increase its portion of council tax by £5 for residents living in Band D homes.
The Labour authority’s cabinet is recommended to approve the 2.89 per cent rise when it meets next week, with the increase equating to £3.33 more for people in Band A houses.
If approved, the rise would then be taken for debate at a full council meeting next month as part of wider budget plans.
Documents published ahead of the meeting on February 17 say: “With the continued removal of central government support, the council will increasingly rely on income generated by local fees and charges, and council tax.
“These will need to be consistently increased year on year to offset the momentum of continual reductions in available budgets.
“Covid-19 presents an additional risk to income levels, for which the recovery period is uncertain.”
It comes as other Nottinghamshire authorities outline their plans for council tax in the coming financial year.
Conservative-led Nottinghamshire County Council – the authority that receives the highest proportion of residents’ bills – will increase its taking by four per cent from April.
For Band A homes this increase will mean annual bills rising by £42.16, with Band D properties to see a £64.24 rise.
Councillors on Broxtowe Borough Council have this week backed the authority’s own plans for a £5 Band D increase, with the council’s proposal to go before its full council meeting next month.
For Band A homes the increase would again equate to £3.33 per year.
Tory-led Rushcliffe has also moved a step closer to increasing its portion of the bill by 2.42 per cent – or £3.57 per year at Band D and £2.38 for Band A.
However, Mansfield District Council has already approved plans to freeze its precepts for the coming year after receiving what it described as “higher-than-expected” grants from the Government.
The Labour-led authority had initially planned a two per cent rise before receiving confirmation of its Government support in December.
And both Nottinghamshire Police and the Fire Authority have approved plans to increase their own precepts.
Caroline Henry (Con), the county’s police and crime commissioner, proposed a £9.99 rise for Band D properties, equating to £6.66 for Band A homes, which was approved by the Police and Crime panel earlier this week.
And the fire authority has approved a 1.95 per cent rise, which will see bills increase by £1.62 for Band D and £1.08 for Band A properties.
Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Nottingham councils are yet to outline their council tax plans.
However, more than 330,000 households across Nottinghamshire will not feel the council tax increases after the Government announced a £150 rebate for people living in Bands A to D.
The rebate has been brought forward to help residents in tackling the ongoing ‘cost of living crisis’, with energy bills due to soar from April.
The support will not need to be paid back and will be deducted from residents’ bills by the collecting authorities, with the Government to pick up the bill to allow councils to increase their taxes and invest in services.
