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08
Feb 2022
Harrogate council to vote on 1.99% council tax hike
A planned 1.99% council tax rise is set to be decided by Harrogate Borough Council tomorrow as part of its final budget before the authority is abolished.
The proposed increase – which equates to an extra £5 per year for average Band D households – will go to the vote at a full council meeting.
North Yorkshire County Council and police and fire services have also proposed tax rises which if approved could see council tax bills for average households rise by £255.92 to a total of £2,079 from April.
This comes at a time when families are facing a cost of living crisis, with every home set for a £1,200 increase in bills this year as energy prices rise.
Conservative-run Harrogate Borough Council said its proposed tax rise was needed to balance the books as it continues to feel the effects of government funding cuts and “unprecedented” pandemic pressures.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Chris Aldred, chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny commission, gave feedback on the budget at a meeting last Wednesday when he said staffing would be a “real issue” for the authority before it is replaced by the new North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.
He also said he was disappointed with a budget consultation which just 0.06% of the Harrogate district population took part in.
Council leader Richard Cooper said he shared these concerns before questioning Cllr Aldred why he and other Liberal Democrat councillors abstained from voting on the budget earlier in the process.
Cllr Cooper said:
Cllr Aldred responded to say the move would give the Liberal Democrats “more room for manoeuvre” at tomorrow’s full council meeting.
Under council rules, any political party, councillor or group of councillors can propose an alternative budget. The last time this was done was in 2015 when the Liberal Democrats tabled their own proposals.
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The council makes up just under 13% of council tax bills in the district, while North Yorkshire County Council makes up 70% and police and fire services the remainder. Parish and town councils also charge a small levy.
Paul Foster, head of finance at Harrogate Borough Council, said in a report that while the authority’s government grant allocations had been reduced by £8.2 million since 2010, it had continued to prioritise its services including bin collections and planning.
He also said the council’s key income streams would not reach pre-pandemic levels for at least another year – and that this was another reason for the proposed tax increase.
Mr Foster said:
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