Council tax rise for Scarborough Borough 'concerning' for residents
The final budget and council tax rise of 2.09 percent was approved last Friday
A Scarborough Borough Councillor says he is concerned that a council tax rise will put added pressure onto residents who are already struggling.
The final budget for the authority was approved last Friday which included a 2.09 percent increase council tax.
It means from April the average Band D property will pay an extra £5 for the year.
It is the last time the authority has set its budget before a single unitary council for North Yorkshire is introduced next year.
Councillor Bill Chatt, of Woodlands ward, said: "We know round the corner comes energy price increases and with what's happening in Ukraine at the moment, I should imagine that's going to be even worse. So many people out there are dreading turning on a light, heating the kettle and turning the heating on but we're going to do everything we can by increasing our council tax?
"I'm concerned because I live in one of the most deprived areas of North Yorkshire and I'm actually working to get people to come together to see what we can do to support our residents where we are. We can sit and wait for the Government to give us £150 for As and Ds but the reality is an increase is an increase.
"You can hide it where you want but the reality is for the people who pay it's less money in their pocket. I'm not saying it's a wrong budget because I actually think it's a fantastic budget but could we have not for the last year just given it for free? It would have meant so much more without that £5.
"We should be looking at people who struggle to pay their energy bills, not worrying about what's going to go here or there. We should be worrying about the 110,000 people in this borough and that should be our priority this year because we won't be here next year setting a budget, that will be set by county."
You can read the report outlining the budget here.