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Shepway ratepayers face another year of council tax rises above the rate of inflation although council leader Cllr. Robert Bliss said the Shepway rise of under 4% was below the cost of living inflation rate of 4.2%.

The council also has to collect money for services provided by Kent County Council, Kent Police Authority, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and town and parish councils. When these ‘precepts’ are added to the calculations, the total Council Tax bill for an average Band D property in Shepway will rise to £1,396.37 - an increase of 4.72%. 

Shepway Council has agreed a 3.97% increase in its share of the Council Tax to help meet the costs of providing services for the district in the coming year. 

For a typical Band D home, this will mean an average bill of £217.94, an increase of £8.32 a year - 16p a week - compared to the 2006/07 figure of £209.62 

The council has calculated that its budget requirement for the year ahead will be £19,387,832 of which £9,717,568 will need to be raised through Council Tax.

Following a meeting of the council on Thursday (22 February), Cllr Robert Bliss, said: “Shepway Council’s element of the Council Tax has gone up by only 3.97% – well within the five per cent limit set by the government and below the cost of living inflation rate of 4.2 per cent. 

“We have looked closely at our budgets and worked hard to keep the increase as low as possible. But this will not stop us from continuing to improve our services and concentrating our resources on our six key objectives: improving the appearance of the district; improving our benefits performance; improving our service to customers and being a well-managed council; improving leisure, sporting and cultural opportunities; regenerating our communities, and strengthening our financial position.”