Nottingham residents are being asked whether they support a council tax freeze next year or would prefer an increase to fund additional spending on frontline services.
Nottingham City Council has proposed a balanced draft budget for 2027/28 based on no increase in its council tax charge.
However, its six-week budget consultation will also ask whether residents would support paying more, how much they would be willing to pay and where they would want the additional money spent.
The council says a 1% increase would raise an extra £1.7 million for services, while a 4.99% rise would generate £8.3 million.
The proposed freeze remains the basis of the draft budget. Residents’ responses will inform the council’s final decision, with the budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan due to go before Full Council for approval in March 2027.
According to the council, the draft plans would allow further investment, including more community protection officers and longer library opening hours, alongside a significant reduction in council debt, without increasing council tax.
Last year’s budget included an additional £25 million for frontline services and a 3.5% council tax increase, which the authority says was its lowest in 18 years. It says a further £20.4 million has since been invested in frontline services.
Councillor Ethan Radford, the council’s deputy leader, said: “Over the last year we have invested £45m in Nottingham people and the services which local people have told us matter most, from fixing potholes and putting more community safety officers on the streets to free bulky waste collections, free holiday swimming for under 16s and free access to our leisure centres for older people.
“We have been able to do this thanks to our improved financial position and thanks to the increased funding from the Government. At the same time, we delivered the lowest council tax increase for 18 years, and now we are proposing to go even further than that.”
He said the authority could balance its budget and invest in services while freezing council tax, but wanted residents’ views on whether additional spending should be funded through an increase.
“While we’re confident we can balance the books without increasing council tax, we still want to give residents the option to have their say on if they want us to raise council tax, if so by how much, and how they would like us to use that extra revenue if we were to.
“We will be making a final decision on council tax early in the new year, but we would welcome as many residents as possible to engage with this year’s consultation on the budget and council tax, and if they agree with our proposals.”
Residents, businesses and partner organisations can take part in the consultation, which includes public meetings and a survey open until 30 November.
Further information and the survey are available at nottinghamcity.gov.uk/budget27-28
