Finalised Council Tax Rise is Under 10%At the special Budget Meeting of the Council this evening (Monday 8th March 2004), as a result of the second meeting between Medway Council and Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford, a further batch of savings was proposed by Cllr Alan Jarrett in his half-hour budget speech.
The result was a proposed Council Tax rise of just under 10%—9·78% to be exact. This rise is even lower than last year's 10·86%, and was agreed after some two and three-quarter hours in the Council Chamber in Gillingham, and puts up Medway's Band D to £851·22.
Note that, owing to changes in precepting arrangements, this figure no longer includes a contribution for the Fire Service who will from this year make a separate precept, just like the Police do already. For convenience, councils will collect this money for the Fire Service, again just as they do for the Police, so you don't end up with extra bills to pay.
So here are the actual amounts for each Charging Band for 2004–2005, excluding any Parish precept:
| Band A : | £ | 567·48 | — | Band B : | £ | 662·06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band C : | £ | 756·64 | — | Band D : | £ | 851·22 |
| Band E : | £ | 1,040·38 | — | Band F : | £ | 1,229·54 |
| Band G : | £ | 1,418·70 | — | Band H : | £ | 1,702·44 |