Council tax freeze for fire and rescue service
Newsdesk • Published 20 Feb 2012 15:00
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ROYAL Berkshire Fire Authority has agreed to take a 'freeze grant', meaning residents will not face a hike in council tax charges for their fire and rescue service.
Fire authority members voted in favour of accepting a £465,000 'one-off' grant available for the 2012-2013 financial year. The decision means that Band D households in Berkshire will again pay £55.66 for their fire and rescue service, the same as last year, compared with the average for combined fire authorities in England of £67.70.
Fire Authority Chairman, Councillor Colin Dudley, said: "We considered a proposal to raise our council tax precept by 3.5%, equivalent to an annual increase of £1.95 for a Band D household, but in the end, the overall view was that if we could cushion Berkshire ratepayers from any increase in their council tax on our behalf this year, then that was the right thing to do.
"It does mean that we may face tough choices in following years, the authority is fully aware that financial pressures are not going to go away. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the best-performing services in the country but sets one of the lowest council tax levels. Our job is to continue to deliver high quality services, despite the increasingly restricted budgets that we face."
Final figures from all 24 combined fire authorities are not yet available.
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