East Suffolk Council approves maximum Council Tax increase but reserves still needed

An authority has approved a maximum increase in Council Tax but reserves are still needed to address a financial gap.

East Suffolk councillors met on Wednesday evening to discuss the authority's budget proposals for the upcoming financial year.

Cllr Vincent Langdon-Morris, lead for resources and value for money, asked councillors to agree to a 2.99 increase in Council Tax, the maximum possible without a referendum.

The proposals were equivalent to a £5.58 yearly tax hike for a Band D property, bringing the total bill to £192.15 for the year.

No change was proposed to the authority's Council Tax reduction scheme to benefit struggling residents with up to a 91.5 per cent write-off on their bill.

Cllr Langdon-Morris said the council had received no extra support from the Government with no increase in its core spending power compared to last year.

On reserves, when councillors last looked at the budget, earlier this month, proposals were made to use £7.4 million to plug the financial gap for the upcoming year.

However, due to Government changes to business rates as well as the council's decision to hike parking charges, the amount needed from reserves decreased to £5.3 million, which the finance lead described as an 'achievement'.

Over the next few years, the council will still need to address a £7.5 million gap in 2026/27, rising to £11.9 million in 2028/29.

Despite the incoming struggles, the council has continued to pledge money for schemes such as the transformation of Lowestoft Town Hall as well as the return of the First Light Festival to the town for the next three years.

There was some criticism from opposition councillors but no amendment to the proposals was suggested.

The budget was approved with 26 votes in favour.