Hampshire residents set to pay more for fire service
The council tax precept could be going up
Hampshire residents may face a rise in the amount they pay for the fire service, on top of a hike in the cost of policing.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is proposing households across the region pay an average £5 more a year — or 6.63% — for its services.
That means a Band D resident could pay £80.43 a year.
The fire service could approve the increase at its meeting next week (February 21) but realises it is more important than ever to consider the impact it could have on residents.
With government funding more favourable than first thought, HIWFRS said it has avoided the need for service reductions and invested in the organisation.
One area of strategic assessment is the fire service’s retained personnel.
HIWFRS says it has been a challenge to maintain the availability of the on-call workforce, due to recruitment and retention, and the investment will allow more support in that area, ensuring response times in rural areas are maintained.
Permission had been given to fire authorities to charge residents more than the standard 3% increase, and moved the highest it could increase the precept up to £5.
If it were capped by 3%, the authority said inflation would erode the reserve contributions and HIWFRS would be facing a budget deficit of £2 million.
It would need to make plans to address ‘considerable deficits’ in the future which could lead to service reduction.
As part of the budget, reserves for the authority could build up so there is enough money set aside to maintain its assets.
Inflationary pressures are having significant pressures on the budget and over £6.5 million has been set aside to deal with the increases next year.