Nottinghamshire County Council's leader says there is nothing in its proposed budget that he would "struggle to defend" amid a planned council tax rise of 4.8%. Ben Bradley, who has led the Conservative-controlled council since May 2021, says the authority would be facing a financial gap of £35 million over the next three years without making savings and raising tax.
Mr Bradley says the council itself has taken on "a lot of the pain" of rising inflation, with measures including the reduction of county council buildings down from 17 to nine. Other actions will include "doubling down" on highways enforcement and using a "significant amount" of the council's reserve money.
But an increase is also being planned for both standard council tax and the separate adult social care precept, the former of which would go up by 2.84% and the latter by 2%. It means that people in Band A properties, which make up nearly 40% of Nottinghamshire households, would pay an extra £53.05 in council tax.
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The tax rise would be for the upcoming financial year, starting in April. The budget is yet to be discussed and approved by Nottinghamshire county councillors.
Those in a Band H property, the highest band properties which make up just 0.1% of Nottinghamshire households, would pay £159.14 more in council tax. Ben Bradley said: "I think residents, given the 11% inflation, will no doubt expect a level of council tax increase.
"The context to that is that the council experiences that inflation just as households do in terms of bills and rising costs and to us that is around £25 million during this year of extra costs just to deliver the same stuff. We've managed to come in almost on budget this year, but that inflation and pressure is not expected to go anywhere next year, so we are wanting to get to a place where we are sustainable.
"I think we've managed to find a budget where virtually we're not really cutting anything when it comes to supporting residents and helping the most vulnerable. It's services like children's services and family hubs that do the most to help those very people and we're protecting and hopefully enhancing those services."
In terms of the other internal savings being made, Ben Bradley said that the council was coming to the end of a review about how it will use its County Hall headquarters in the future. He said: "We're coming to the end of a bit of scrutiny work on County Hall, my expectation is that we will at the very least change the way we use County Hall and vacate at least part of it.
"I'm waiting for the outcome of that but that is our oldest and most expensive building so I am expecting further savings to come from there. Similarly in Mansfield we have got an old and expensive building called Meadow House. We're working in partnership with the district council and the Towns Fund bid to co-locate and join up with them to save everybody some money.
"Nobody needs 17 half-empty and often not fit-for-purpose buildings. We've got to a really positive place and I think when you look at neighbours not too far away who are in a really difficult position and shutting everything, we are just not in that boat, we've got a really positive situation."
Nottingham City Council, which is a unitary authority and therefore manages all local services for people in the city, recently announced its own budget plans which if approved will see council tax rising by 5% and 110 jobs being cut. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently changed the council tax cap so that authorities can now raise it by 5% without holding a referendum.
On the county council's budget, Ben Bradley added: "There is nothing in this budget that I would put out there and struggle to defend. We're in a really good place, there's no significant cuts to services or redundancies and nothing I think which residents will look at and go 'god that's awful'."
Carl Les, the finance spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said after the Government's provisional offer on funding for councils next year: "The increase in resources will go a significant way to easing the financial pressures facing councils but councils still face very tough budget decisions next year. Any council tax rise during the current cost of living crisis is a difficult choice but is one the majority of our councils will need to take to ensure they can maintain vital frontline services."
Below are what the county council's tax changes could mean for you. Nottinghamshire County Council's share of council tax is collected by the district council in your area.
Your overall council tax bill is used to fund both the county and district council, Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue. Council tax property bands are based on the value of your house on April 1, 1991.
What Nottinghamshire County Council's planned tax increase would mean for you:
Band A property (worth up to £40,000 in 1991): £53.05 increase for the year.
Band B property (worth between £40,001 and £52,000 in 1991): £61.88 increase for the year.
Band C property (worth between £52,001 and £68,000 in 1991): £70.73 increase for the year.
Band D property (worth between £68,001 and £88,000 in 1991): £79.75 increase for the year.
Band E property (worth between £80,001 and £120,000 in 1991): £97.26 increase for the year.
Band F property (worth between £120,001 and £160,000 in 1991): £114.93 increase for the year.
Band G property (worth between £160,001 and £320,000 in 1991): £132.62 increase for the year.
Band H property (worth over £320,000 in 1991): £159.14 increase for the year.
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