Canterbury City Council is poised to raise its portion of the council tax by 3% when it meets to approve its budget for the next financial year.
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The hike will come alongside increases for Kent County Council, the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and Kent Police – taking the average total for a band D property to £1,682.
Council leader Simon Cook (Con) said: “Yes, we are putting up the city council’s precept by 3% which is more than I would like.
“I would like not to put it up at all.
“But in this time of austerity we are balancing the books and still providing frontline services.
“That’s down to a lot of hard work, making sure we’ve got the money we need.
“We are becoming more independent from the central government and that’s a good thing in the long run and we are doing everything efficiently.”
Earlier this month the council finalised its purchase of the Whitefriars shopping centre with the aim of being able to generate revenue from it.
Councillors meet tomorrow (Thursday) night at the Guildhall at 7pm. The meeting is open to the public.
