Council tax plans revealed for Scarborough Borough
There is potentially mixed news on the horizon for council tax payers in Scarborough when it comes to their next bill.
There is potentially mixed news on the horizon for council tax payers in Scarborough when it comes to their next bill.
Scarborough Council has revealed it plans to not raise its share of the precept for 2021/22, which makes up approximately 13% of a rate payers bill, due to the impact of the pandemic on peoples’ finances.
It means a resident in a Band D property in the borough would once again pay £239.75 for the year.
A report prepared for a meeting of the borough council’s cabinet on Tuesday next week adds that a £5 a year rise to the council tax level (Band D) is proposed to be applied in each of the following two years.
North Yorkshire County Council, which makes up around 63% of the total council tax bill for residents, says it is considering increasing its share of the precept by 1.99%, equivalent to an extra £27 a year for an average household, to fund pandemic support and recovery and other priority areas.
The county’s police and fire services are also consulting on whether to freeze or raise theri share of the tax.
In total, a Band D property in Scarborough paid £1,941.68 in 2020/21.
The borough council’s cabinet report lays out the financial impact of the pandemic on the authority and the potential ramifications of the Government’s Fair Funding Review which will see the council need to make budget savings of £4.9 million by 2024.
However, the report was written before this week’s new lockdown, meaning the picture may change once more.
It states:
“Covid-19 has understandably had a significant impact on council budgets in terms of income reductions and additional cost pressures, and the council will face a net budgetary shortfall of £2 million in the 2020/21 financial year as a result of the pandemic.
“The rollout of the vaccine in the latter part of the 2020/21 year and into 2021/22 should hopefully negate the need for further large scale lockdowns and alleviate some of the financial pressures the council faces, however it is still anticipated that the pandemic will continue to have an impact in the 2021/22 year and beyond.”
The report adds that the council’s annual grant funding from central government is expected to reduce by a further £1.9 million in the next three years.