South Kesteven District Council proposes £5 increase on average council tax bills

Two meetings of the authority, cabinet and the joint overview and scrutiny committee, will examine the plans next week on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

The increase is the higher of the two options available to councils before sparking a referendum, and will take the authority’s Band D share of the tax to £168.62 — a rise of 3.06%.

A report before councillors said: “The scale of the financial challenges ahead are significant and largely as a result of the external environment namely a further delay in the national review of the local government funding formula and the detrimental impact the pandemic has had on the council’s resources.

“Therefore the budget proposals have been built against this backdrop whilst maintaining quality services to the residents of South Kesteven.”

The report said the financial outlook for the district “remains uncertain”, however, notes a number of settlements and financial measures announced by government including the income losses compensation scheme.

A number of national reductions in funding means SKDC predicts its income will reduce from £18.5 million next year to £13.4 million by 2024-25 and, so money will have to come from elsewhere.

Authority bosses expect to need around £14 million if the budget goes ahead as requested, even more if not. They expect to the council to enter into a budget deficit of £1.1 million by 2023-24 based on projected funding levels.

The budget also outlines a number of cuts the authority wishes to make including the removal of toilet attendants in Grantham and Stamford, the merger of the Visitor Information Centres and box office at Stamford, as well as increase of some charges such as green waste and car parking tariffs and sub letting offices at St Peter’s Hill.

Consultation on the plans will take place following the meetings.