Nine per cent council tax rise approved by Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council has agreed to increase council tax by an unprecedented nine per cent.
The decision, described by some members of the council as a 'super rise', was agreed at a vote of the full council held at Shrewsbury's Guildhall today (February 26).
The 8.99 per cent increase means the average band D bill will go up by £162.42p, from £1,806.67 to £1,969.09.
The vote on the Liberal Democrat administration's budget was passed with 44 councillors voting in favour, 21 against and one abstaining.
The council had to be given permission for the rise by the Government because authorities can only increase council tax by 4.99 per cent in a year without a referendum, or the green light from Westminster.
The council tax rise comes as the authority was given the go ahead to borrow nearly £190 million from the Government to avoid bankruptcy.
Addressing the meeting Liberal Democrat council leader Heather Kidd said that without the large rise the council would need to borrow more - costing residents more money in the long term.
She said: "That extra four per cent council tax rise is really painful for all of us. We all have friends and family in this room that will have to pay that and many of them will find it really difficult."
But the council leader said that the authority had no option, due to the perilous state of its finances.
She said: "There has never been a more important time for us to set a budget that actually delivers because in the past when the budget had not delivered it was propped up by reserves. We have now got to the point where we have no reserves and we are funding it through borrowing."
