People in Rochdale are facing a 5 per cent hike to their council tax bills - but the local authority could pay 2pc of it for them. Finance bosses had initially drawn up plans to put up bills by 3pc - warning that failing to do so would open up a recurring £2m gap on the balance sheet.
But the government later made it clear authorities were expected to implement a 5pc increase - including a 2pc rise to the ringfenced adult social care precept - if they were to maximise their ‘core spending power’. It means that a Band D household faces paying an extra £108.77 per year once increases to Andy Burnham’s fire and policing precepts - (£5 and £15 respectively) are added in.
This will take the average household’s bill up from £2,110.26 to £2,219.03 - about £9 more per month - from April, representing an overall hike of 5.15pc. However, to ‘ease the financial burden’ on residents, the council will automatically apply a 2pc discount across the board. It means Band A homes - which make up more than half the properties in the borough - would pay an extra £2.96 per month.
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