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17
Jan 2023
North Yorkshire Council plans council tax hike
North Yorkshire residents look set to have to find more than £100 extra from April to pay an average council tax bill, despite their newly-launched local authority embarking on a rigorous cost-cutting programme.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive will next Tuesday consider charging average band D households £83.64 more just for services that have traditionally been provided by the district, borough and county councils.
Residents are also facing having to pay significantly higher council tax bills due to expected rises in precepts from North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and parish councils, some of which are considering levying large-scale increases to cover their costs.
As the proposed police and fire precepts will not be announced until later this month it remains unclear what total council tax rise residents will face, but under the proposal for the unitary North Yorkshire Council element of council tax bills, band D residents would have to pay £1,759.96.
Residents of areas such as Hambleton will face yet steeper increases, paying about £45 extra on what they paid last year to bring their bills into line with those charged elsewhere in the county.
A report to the executive states even with a 4.99% increase in its charge, the new council will need to use £30m of reserves to balance its budget in 2023/24 alone alongside a cost-cutting programme to save up to £68m annually.
Read more:
- Council freezes Ripon parish precept for third year running
- Levelling up council tax charges over two years is ‘best compromise’
Cllr Gareth Dadd, the authority’s finance executive member, said he was acutely aware of financial pressures households are facing and that those in the greatest financial need would be given up to 100 per cent reductions on council tax bills.
The authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:
'Forced on local councils'
Opposition groups on the authority said although the 4.99% increase would be very difficult for many households to cover, with inflation at 11% it meant a six per cent real terms reduction to pay for council services.
Cllr Andy Brown, Green Party leader, said:
Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independents group, said as the government had failed to carry out its promised reforms of social care charging councils were being forced to put the charge onto council tax bills.
He said:
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