Council Tax set to rise in Dorset
The average household could pay an extra £80 more a year
We could be paying more Council Tax in Dorset.
Dorset Council is proposing to increase its budget for the 2021-2022 by around 3%.
The average Band D household will end up paying £1.62 extra per week, or £84.60 per year.
The local authority say the extra funding is needed because of the on-going pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In total, the proposals will mean a rise from £304m to £313m.
Massive impact of Covid
Cllr Gary Suttle, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Commercial and Capital Strategy, said:
“It has been particularly challenging developing the budget for next financial year, 2021-22, due to the high level of uncertainty caused by the COVID pandemic. COVID has had a massive impact on our communities and our budget this year and this is likely to continue over the coming months.
“We have developed proposals which will deliver a balanced budget. But it has not been easy and it is with a heavy heart that we have had to include proposals for a council tax increase. We understand that many residents and local businesses have been hit financially by the pandemic, and there will be support available for the hardest hit. The budget assumption of a pay freeze for staff is also made with a heavy heart when we are keenly aware how hard staff have worked for many months.
Pay freeze for staff
“These are tough choices, but we have to find ways to fund the support for communities through the pandemic and the ever-growing need among our residents for social care services. We continue to lobby the Government for further funding. And we will endeavour to protect the vital council services on which so many residents rely.”
An £18.6m overspend is anticipated by the end of the financial year.
The council is required by law to produce a ‘balanced budget’ but that will be significantly more difficult this year with extra expenditure going towards vulnerable people and less money incoming from things like car parking, business rates and council tax.
Councillors say grants from the government have gone a long way in plugging the funding gap too, but not the whole way.
The council is proposing a number of tactical and ‘transformational’ savings to match that change.
The proposals will be voted on by the Cabinet on Tuesday 19 January.