In three months time, councillors will gather in Northallerton to set a budget which is expected to see harsh cuts to council spending.

This month, Cllr Gareth Dadd, executive councillor for finance at North Yorkshire Council, warned that the council faces deteriorating finances and had already started eyeing potential savings.

The council faces a £4.9 million shortfall in the 2025/26 financial year and has warned this could rise to £34.4 million by 2027/28.

With this in mind, the Stray Ferret has taken a closer look at some of the measures council officials have already taken to raise money and some which may yet come.

Second homes council tax

Perhaps one of the most unpopular moves the council took this year was to introduce a 100% council tax premium on second homes.

The measure came into force in April and, according to Cllr Dadd, is expected to raise £14.5 million.

However, the policy was not without backlash senior councillors were subject to “abusive emails” as a result of move.

Opposition also came from fellow councillors. Cllr Sam Cross, independent councillor for Filey, described the estimated revenue raised from the premium as “downright robbery”.

Locality grants

In February, council leaders cut a £900,000 locality grant scheme in half.

The scheme allows councillors to make small grants to local community organisations.

Each councillor was given £10,000 a year to allocate to good causes. However, this was reduced to £5,000 from 2025/26.

At the time, Independent Cllr Lindsay Burr, who represents Malton, described the reduction as a “backwards and cruel step to all communities of North Yorkshire”.

But, Cllr Dadd said the council could no longer justify a £10,000 grant for each councillor to spend.

Home-to-school transport restriction

One of the most controversial moves the council has made to save money is restricting free transport for pupils to their nearest school.

In July 2024, councillors voted to reduce the service to its statutory minimum in a move it hopes would save £4.2 million.

At the time, council officials pointed out that the annual cost of providing school transport has increased to £51 million and was the Conservative-run council's third-largest source of expenditure behind adult social care and waste management.

However, over the last 16 months, campaigners have lobbied the authority to reverse its decision.

Recycling centre restrictions

The most recent move the council has made to save money is implementing restrictions at the county’s household waste recycling centres.

The Stray Ferret revealed in August that changes were in the pipeline in a bid to save £405,000 each year.

The move requires people to register to use the service and also cap the number of visits for commercial vehicles.

While the council said its proposal received a positive response, some of the residents the Stray Ferret spoke to had different opinions.

Cuts to leisure centres?

While the measures the council has already put in place may be saving money, it still needs to find more savings to plug a predicted £34 million deficit by the end of 2027/28.

The Stray Ferret understands North Yorkshire councillors were briefed last week that the focus is likely to be on leisure, libraries and museums as they are non-statutory services which local authorities are not obliged to provide.

This has led to fears over the future of Starbeck Baths. Residents have raised concern that the facility could be on the authority’s radar for potential savings.

The council is already in the process of identify areas to cut in order to balance its books. A budget meeting, which will reveal the authority’s financial plan, will be held on February 13, 2026.

But, Cllr Dadd has already warned that residents should “be prepared for the most severe budget round that this authority and its predecessors has ever faced”.