Nottinghamshire County Council's leader says there is nothing in its proposed budget that he would "struggle to defend" amid a planned council tax rise of 4.8%. Ben Bradley, who has led the Conservative-controlled council since May 2021, says the authority would be facing a financial gap of £35 million over the next three years without making savings and raising tax.
Mr Bradley says the council itself has taken on "a lot of the pain" of rising inflation, with measures including the reduction of county council buildings down from 17 to nine. Other actions will include "doubling down" on highways enforcement and using a "significant amount" of the council's reserve money.
But an increase is also being planned for both standard council tax and the separate adult social care precept, the former of which would go up by 2.84% and the latter by 2%. It means that people in Band A properties, which make up nearly 40% of Nottinghamshire households, would pay an extra £53.05 in council tax.
