Melton Council Tax bills to be finalised on Thursday

It has already been decided that the Melton Council element will rise by £5, representing about an extra 10p a week for householders in average Band D properties.

The Leicestershire County Council portion of the bill will rise by £44.98 (Band D)if members approved it yesterday (Wednesday).

There will also be rises in other elements of the Council Tax bill with that for the county Police and Crime Commissioner going up by 1.99 per cent and the Leicestershire Combined Fire Authority by 1.98 per cent.

Finally, the parish council precepts portion of bills is set to increase by 4.38 per cent.

The final Council Tax bills, with all the elements included, will be decided tonight by Melton councillors.

The council has suffered a 42 per cent reduction in the main grant it receives from the government between 2015/16 and 2019/20, representing a shortfall of £933,000.

This is in addition to the previous reductions of £1.9m, or 57 per cent, over the period 2010/11 to 2015/16.

A Melton Council spokesperson said: “In order to help rural councils such as Melton manage these future cuts in grant the government is allowing them to increase their average council tax by a flat rate of £5 a year.

“Therefore, due to the ongoing funding pressures being faced, we have approved a 2.69 per cent increase in Council Tax for borough council purposes to support the continued delivery of key services.”

Council leader, Councillor Pam Posnett, said: “The council has continued to manage its finances well against a background of reduced government grant.

“As we move forward I shall continue to look to how the council can maximise its income and grow its economy through initiatives, such as the Melton Community Lottery, in order to support those in the community that are most in need.”