Arun announces tax rise below inflation

Council tax levied by Arun District Council is due to rise by a below-inflation £4.41.

The annual increase in the yearly charge for homeowners is equal to 2.97 per cent.

It will push up the amount which the council takes for an average band D household to 152.91 from April. This has to be added to the spending by the county council and parish councils and Sussex Police for the total bill.

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The figure was included in the council's 2008/09 budget which was agreed on Monday by the cabinet of senior councillors.

The decision is expected to be agreed by all Arun's councillors on February 20.

Council leader Cllr Gill Brown said the modest increase reflected the sensible financing approach which the council had adopted.

"We are in a sound financial position. Having a long term strategy has paid off," she stated.

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Alan Peach, the council's head of finance, said council tax would raise 12.383m for Arun in the coming year.

It would be added to the amount received from the government for the next year. This was rising by 2.3 per cent to 10.143m. But that would be followed by two years of even lower growth.

He also warned that one area of uncertainty remained in the budget.

This surrounded the cost of free bus travel for the over-60s. This could well soar past April when the journeys became free nationally against the current Sussex travel scheme.

The government had given Arun 403,000 to meet the expected additional costs. This was likely to more than meet the council's

expenses, Mr Peach stated.