Council tax bills in Ipswich are set to go up by just under 2.7% next year – with the rate set to be confirmed next week.
Ipswich Borough Council is set to confirm that its element of council tax bills will go up by 1.99%, the highest figure available without triggering a local referendum.
When added to the Suffolk County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner elements of council tax bills, this means that households will be charged 2.68% more during the next financial year.
That means a household in a band B home – the most widespread in Ipswich – will pay an extra £34.65 next year. The borough’s element of that increase is £5.18.
The council tax increase is almost certain to be approved. The ruling Labour group at the borough council has a substantial majority and the main opposition Conservatives are not planning to oppose the principle of an increase in the tax.
Deputy council leader Bryony Rudkin said: “These are difficult times for everybody but we take budget planning very seriously so we are able to protect services and improve the community we serve.
“We have worked very hard to reach this point.”
Conservative group leader Nadia Cenci said there were some comparatively small changes her group would be trying to make, like keeping crèche services at sports centres, but she did not think there was any dispute that council tax rates would have to go up.
She said: “Quite honestly if we were running the council we would want to do things in a completely different way and would not use the Labour Party’s structures.
“There is no point in trying to change every individual policy so we are concentrating on one or two things this time around.”
Suffolk County Council, which is responsible for most of the council tax bill, put up its element by three percent - an increase permitted by the government for authorities responsible for social care spending.
Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore put up his element of the council tax bill by 1.97%, again just under the government’s 2% threshold.
The borough’s element is the final part of council tax to be formally decided – and is likely to be approved at its meeting on Wednesday evening.
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