Council puts council tax up 2.99 per cent and sets £1.1bn budget

Brighton and Hove City Council has voted to put up the council tax for the financial year starting in April and set a budget totalling almost £1.1 billion today (Thursday 24 February).

At the Brighton Centre, councillors attending the annual “budget council” meeting voted for a 1.99 per cent rise in council tax and an extra 1 per cent “precept” to help fund adult social care.

For the 2022-23 financial year, council tax will go up £52.15 – or 2.99 per cent – for a band D property, taking the bill up to £1,794.03.

When the precept for policing and the fire service are added, the bill will increase by £64.09 – or 3.12 per cent – taking a band D council tax bill up to £2,118.31.

A couple living in a band D property will have to find the equivalent of £176.50 a month – or almost £5 a month more than in the current financial year.

Green councillor Tom Druitt said that his party’s priorities were to protect frontline services from government cuts, invest for the future and help the city recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The budget proposals place the equivalent of 19 full-time posts at risk, with the Green-run council keen to redeploy staff or use early retirement or voluntary redundancies to achieve the total.

Before the meeting, Councillor Druitt said that the relatively low number compared well with previous years.

He also said that the budget included the pay settlement that ended the strike by bin lorry drivers in the autumn and its knock-on effects among other lower-paid staff.

It is the first time that the council has set a “deficit budget” – with a shortfall of almost £2 million to be taken from reserves – or the council’s savings.

The money is due to be paid back into the council’s reserves over the next few years.