Worthing cabinet members back second successive council tax rise

The two per cent rise represents an overall annual increase for band D properties of £4.41.

Together with proposed rises in the West Sussex County Council and police and crime commissioner precepts, the overall band D bill is expected to rise from £1,577.03 to £1,634.15.

Supporting the borough council’s increase at a special meeting on Monday, leader Dan Humphreys said: “It’s quite clear from the papers that the pressures are growing.

“We have put forward a prudential plan for the future which does involve a relatively small rise in council tax, just over £4 per year for the average council tax payer, and I think that is vital for safeguarding the excellent services we provide.”

Cabinet members were reminded of the rapidly-reducing support from the Government.

While the council received more than £2million in revenue support grant in the current financial year, the funding is set to disappear entirely in mid-2019.

This will see the council become more reliant on council tax, with the levy set to represent 72 per cent of the authority’s overall income in 2021, compared to 58 per cent this year.

The two per cent rise will now be debated by full council.

It would be the second year running that the council has increased its share of council tax, with five years of freezes beforehand.

Cabinet members could have recommended a slightly higher rise without triggering a referendum.

The maximum rise would be £5 – a 2.27 per cent increase.

Click here to see how Adur cabinet members voted in relation to their council tax bills.