Northamptonshire County Council has taken advantage of special freedom to increase council tax by 4.99% without needing to hold a referendum.
The council - which was given the extra flexibility to help improve its governance and services - has agreed to the council tax rise to help balance its budget.
The budget also includes investment into adults’ facilities and children’s homes.
Leader of the council, Cllr Matt Golby, said: ‘We have just agreed a budget for next year which balances, and has at its heart a commitment to transform services to make them more cost-effective rather than simply cutting them and responds directly to the concerns people raised with us through the consultation period.
‘Of course the budget also includes a 4.99% rise in council tax and we did not take this decision lightly. While not many people welcome a rise in their bills it is important to put this into context. For the majority of people in this county it will mean a rise of between 75p and £1 a week.’
Northamptonshire CC chief executive Theresa Grant spoke to The MJ (£) about how one goes about tackling the most challenging budget in local government.
