Council Tax set to increase by around 9p per week for Band D

CHARNWOOD Borough Council is proposing to raise its share of council tax by 9p a week for a Band D property.

The proposed increase would see the annual charge for an average Band D property rise £5 (4.27 per cent) to £122.09 from April 1, 2019.

It is also being proposed to keep the Loughborough Special Rate, paid by residents of Loughborough and the equivalent of a parish precept in villages, at the same rate, £74.97.

The council’s cabinet will consider the draft budget plans on Thursday, February 14 with its recommendation due to go before full council on Monday, February 25.

Coun Tom Barkley, Lead Member for Finance and Property Services, said: “We are proposing to increase our local element of council tax for the next financial year.

“Local government funding remains challenging and in order to protect our frontline services, we have put forward what we believe is a reasonable proposal.

“It would mean we will still have one of the lowest council tax rates in the country. We are also proposing to freeze the Loughborough Special Rate once again.

“Even with this increase, it will still mean we will have to use some of our reserves in order to balance the books for 2019/2020.

“However, because of careful planning in the past, our financial position will remain strong which will allow us to continue to offer excellent services for residents.”

Charnwood Borough Council currently has the 23rd lowest council tax charge out of 201 district councils in the country.

Council tax pays for a range of services provided by Charn- wood Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire Police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and the parish council where you live (or Charnwood Borough Council for people in Loughborough). The Charnwood element accounts for less than 10 per cent of the total bill.

For more information about the budget, see the reports to Cabinet on the Council: http:// bit.ly/CBCtax2019