Council tax could increase for Scarborough borough residents

The borough authority, which makes up around 13 per cent of a resident’s council tax bill, is proposing to increase its share of the precept by 1.99 per cent, or £5 a year for a Band D property.

It would bring the total paid to the council by borough residents in a Band D property to £239.75.

A report prepared for Tuesday’s meeting of the authority’s cabinet sets out the reduction in budgets the council has seen in the last decade.

It states: “The council’s policy has always been to be as efficient as possible and protect front line services and since 2010 the council has delivered savings of £21 million from its annual revenue budget. Over that same period, performance in many areas has increased.”

It goes on to add: “The projections show that, subject to the levels of funding cuts applied as a result of the Fair Funding Review, savings of £6.674 million will need to be identified from the current annual revenue budget to balance the funding gap over the period to 2023.

“The proposed savings for the 2020/21 year total £3.096m.”

The budget will need to be approved by the full council later this year.

Other proposed changes include the council tax premium on properties that have been empty and unfurnished for more than five years will increase from 100 per cent to 200 per cent for the 2020/21 year onwards and the premium on properties that have been empty and unfurnished for more than 10 years will increase from 100 per cent to 300 per cent from April 1 2021.

North Yorkshire County Council, which takes in 70 per cent of the council tax payment, is currently consulting with residents over its budget plans.

Last year, a Band D property owner in the borough paid a total of £1,896.08 in council tax.