Harrogate district residents should brace themselves for another increase in their council tax bills this year.
As local authorities begin to unveil their budget plans, a hike in rates is one of the measures they will take.
Council tax bills are made by adding up the precepts charged by North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and parish councils.
Harrogate Borough Council has already announced a proposed £5 increase and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has suggested bills could go up as far as £10 for the police force.
A closer look at the detail gives a glimpse into why those authorities are hiking rates.
How much will my bill go up by?
So far, the only authority which has shown its full hand on council tax is Harrogate Borough Council.
Senior councillors at Harrogate council have backed a £5 increase – which would amount to £255.92 for a band D property.
A final decision on the increase will be made in February.
North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner have yet to confirm their proposals — but have suggested what the rate could be.
North Yorkshire’s police commissioner gave a North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel a presentation on Thursday which outlined a budget based on a £10 increase.
Read more:
- Council warns of ‘enormous financial pressures’ despite government funding
- Harrogate council bosses warn tax rise needed to balance books
- ‘God help us!’ — fears over need for £31m to fund North Yorks fire service
This would see the police precept on council tax bills increase to £281.06 and give the force an additional £3 million in income.
However, the fire service will only be able to hike its share by 1.99%. This would see the rate charged for fire services rise to £1.46 per week.
North Yorkshire County Council, which makes up the majority of residents’ council tax bills, has yet to suggest an increase.
But it does have the power to hike its share by as much as 4.5%.
Should senior county councillors support such an increase, this would see its share rise from £1,411 for a band D property to £1,474.
Why is my bill going up?
Nearly two years of covid and more than a decade of government cuts has had a drastic affect on local authority finances.
Coronavirus has left both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council with financial blackholes to fill.
Last month, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, warned that the authority will have to find £19 million in savings this coming year.
Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council. Picture: North Yorkshire County Council.
A government settlement of £26 million will not be enough for the authority to balance its books in 2022/23.
However, Cllr Les did acknowledge that the council tax system needed to be reformed.
He said:
“We continue to feel that residents in North Yorkshire pay too much council tax, particularly in comparison to London, and urge the government to press on with funding reform to create a fairer solution for rural counties.”
Similarly, Paul Foster, head of finance at Harrogate Borough Council, told senior councillors that its finances were not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023/24.
He said the council was predicting a reduction in income for the next financial year of £150,000.
Mr Foster also said government grant allocations had been reduced by £8.2 million since 2010 and that the council would have to dip into its reserves to fund some major projects.
Michael Porter, director of finance at North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office, setting out the bleak financial picture for the fire service earlier this week.
Fire service hit hardest
But perhaps the authority feeling the affects of both covid and cuts most acutely is North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.
On Thursday, the Stray Ferret reported that the service has had its capital grant abolished by the government, which means it could have to borrow up to £31 million to fund upkeep of stations and fire kit for crews.
In addition to this, the service is currently running a deficit of £1 million and cannot increase its share of council tax by more than 1.99%.
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, described the precept cap set by government as “very unfair” and pledged to continue lobbying ministers for fairer funding.
To illustrate just how bleak the financial situation is, Martin Walker, a former judge and co-opted member of North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, said he was “horrified” by it.
He told Michael Porter, director of finance at the commissioner’s office, on Thursday:
“I have to say that I’m horrified, if that’s not too strong a word, about where the fire service is going to be.
“It’s in desperate need of capital injection and renewing stations, renewing fire engines and renewing all sorts of infrastructure.
“You’re talking about borrowing and having to borrow £30 million. I hesitate to say this, but god help us.
“The fire service is fighting so hard to provide the service that the public need and yet you’re telling us as a panel that it’s going to get worse, then it will get worse and after that it will get worse.”
What happens now?
Council officials, including the county council and commissioner’s office, will set out their plans for council tax this month.
After that, councillors will vote on the proposals.
All of the public bodies which set council tax rates will confirm their budgets in February.
From there, residents across the Harrogate district will receive their bill for the next financial year in April. The only certainty is that they will go up again.
