Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue could increase its council tax by £5 as the service says it would face a deficit of nearly £6million without charging more. Local authorities across Nottinghamshire are currently planning their council tax charges for the next financial year, which starts in April.
Nottingham City Council has already proposed a rise of 5%, while Nottinghamshire County Council is planning to charge an extra 4.84%. It comes after the Government recently raised the cap so that local authorities can now increase council tax by up to 5% without holding a referendum.
A £5 increase in Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue's council tax, equating to an £89 bill for a Band D property, has now been described as a a move which would make the service's finances 'far more manageable' over the coming years. A report on the matter has been written by Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin and will be presented at a meeting next week.