Nottinghamshire Fire Authority will raise its portion of council tax bills by 2.99 per cent after councillors approved next year’s budget.
The authority met on Friday, 28 February, and gave the go-ahead to the increase.
This will mean the portion of all Nottinghamshire council tax bills that goes towards the service will increase by £5 for each household from April.
Households in Band D would pay £97.21 per year, while Band A households would see their council tax rise to £64.81 per annum.
The rise would generate an extra £1.7 million in funding for the service, according to documents.
It would also help the service balance its books by reducing an expected annual budget gap to £887,000.
Reports also show that a similar increase in council tax in the following financial years would control an expected budget deficit up to 2029.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Roger Upton (Con) said:
“Our group will be supporting the budget today.
“I give thanks to the team for the amount of work they put in. We support the recommendations of this balanced budget and the council tax increase.
“It is not good in terms of looking ahead to future years. Whoever can petition the Government to change the method of financial allocations would be welcome.”
Cllr Tom Hollis (Ash Ind), who voted against the recommendations, described the tax hike as a “disgrace”.
He said at the meeting:
“If less effort was put into designing nice new offices and more time was spent listening to members of this authority, things would look a lot better and this would be a more inclusive fire authority.
“I’m very passionate about seeing the authority do well.
“Ultimately, the focus should be on frontline [workers], investing in West Bridgford Fire Station, inclusive staff, and paying firefighters more money.
“I think these are all the things this budget, for the first time, doesn’t do.”
The majority of councillors voted for the recommendations, while Cllr Tom Hollis (Ash Ind), Cllr Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), and Cllr Helen-Ann Smith (Ash Ind) voted against.
The vote came a day after Nottinghamshire County Council approved its own 4.84 per cent increase to council tax bills.
This is in addition to the fire authority’s increase and will affect Band A properties with an increase of £58.71 for the year.
Band B homes will pay £68.02 more, with £77.75 more for Band C, and Band D facing an £87.46 increase.
Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Panel has also increased precepts for local policing.
That 4.9 per cent rise will see Band A homes paying £9.30 more, Band B properties facing a £10.85 rise for policing, a £12.50 rise for Band C, and an increase of £14 for Band D.
District and borough councils can also increase bills by up to 2.99 per cent. This is roughly £3.50 for Band A homes and £5 for Band D.
Each local authority has the power to set its own precepts, with most increasing precepts by the maximum 2.99 per cent, while others have implemented lower rises – and Ashfield District Council has frozen bills.
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