Have your say on council tax in South Kesteven and Rutland
Council tax bills are likely to rise but first local authorities are asking people what they think.
South Kesteven District Council is considering increasing the charges for its portion of the bill by 3% for 2025/26.
This equates to an average increase of £5.51 for a band D property.
Coun Ashley Baxter (Ind), leader of the council and cabinet member for finance, said: “It is essential we do all we can to protect the services we provide, and continue to deliver our ambitions.
“An increase of 3% per band D property in our element of council tax for 2025/26 will generate around £354,000 of additional income.
“This additional revenue will contribute towards costs of essential day-to-day services such as refuse collection, street cleaning and CCTV, as well as offset costs of longer-term projects across the district.”
The council is asking for feedback on its proposal through a survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/skctax2526 - which closes on February 3.
People living and working in Rutland are also being asked for their views on Rutland County Council’s annual budget.
The authority is proposing a 4.99% increase in council tax, which includes 2.99% general tax and a 2% precept for adult social care services.
This means the band D rate in Rutland would rise to £2,218.95, an increase of £8.78 per month.
Coun Andrew Johnson (Lib Dem), cabinet member for resources and governance at Rutland County Council, said: “Setting the budget this year has been an enormous challenge.
“The council has seen its costs rise by an additional £5.6m heading into 2025/26.
“This includes the sudden loss of government grant funding in December worth £1.5million. Despite this, we have balanced our books for the year without needing to draw upon reserve funds to pay for day-to-day services.
“The government continues to assume that councils everywhere will raise council tax by the maximum allowed when it calculates how much money we’re able to spend on local services.
“These calculations are inherently unfair and don’t provide a level playing field.”
To have your say visit: https://www.rutland.gov.uk/have-your-say/annual-budget
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.