Adur District Council set to increase its share of council tax bills

Members of Adur District Council’s executive approved the rise of 1.99 per cent on Tuesday evening (1 February).

The change will now have to be approved by full council if it is to come into force this year.

ADC currently receives a £311.40 share of council tax for an average Band D property and £276.80 for a Band C property, with the rest going to West Sussex County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner precepting authorities.

The proposed increase would add an extra £6.21 a year to council tax for average Band D properties or £5.52 for Band C.

Last month, the Sussex Police and Crime Panel  signed off plans to increase the PCC precept by £10 a ear for 2022-23.

WSCC is proposing a 2.99 per cent increase – or an average of £45.18 a year for a Band D property – though this has not yet been given full approval.

Deputy ADC leader and executive member for resources Angus Dunn (Con, Hillside) said that the most vulnerable will be protected from the increase.

“Of course we don’t like increasing council tax,” he said, “but I think I’m right in saying that because of the way our council tax support scheme works, the most vulnerable will be protected from those increases anyway.

“When it comes down to it, we’re talking about an increase of £5.50 on average a year – so 12 pence per week or 10 pence a week, depending on your banding.”

Finance officers said the council is ‘in a strong position to set a balanced budget’ without the use of ‘rapidly depleting reserves’ – and a council tax increase would make a key contribution.

“When thinking about the level of council tax, I think we need to reflect on not just 2022- 2023, but also future years and particularly 2023- 2024,” they said.

“It is now clear that the Secretary of State intends to implement the funding review in 2023.

“It is clear that we will lose out financially, therefore the council tax that we set today does not just influence our budget for 2022- 2023, but positions us for the challenges ahead in 2023 to 2024.”

A report before the executive shows budget shortfalls over the coming years.

The council may have to make savings of £1.1 million in the 2023-24 financial year, followed by further savings up until 2027.

It is expected that the pandemic will continue to have an impact on council finances throughout the next financial year.

Support from central government will continue to be provided but will be a ‘one off’, say officers.

“We did receive considerable additional resources, but it should be appreciated that most of these resources are one off,” they said.

As a result, executive members agreed to place this into a contingency budget to help the council manage future risks.

Executive member for health and wellbeing Kevin Boram (Con, Buckingham), called the decision a ‘prudent step forward’ and thanked officers for allocating £1.3 million for health and wellbeing despite the challenges of balancing the budget