February 29, 2016 10.40 am This story is over 96 months old

Lincoln residents to find out if they’ll pay higher council tax

Council tax rise: Lincoln residents will find out this week if the city council’s council tax precept will rise.

People living in Lincoln are in line to pay more for services like bin collections, building control, CCTV, events and fly tipping management when the City of Lincoln Council decides on its council tax precept.

A rise of 1.91% for the 2016/17 financial year has been recommended. If approved council tax for Band D properties will increase by £4.77 to £254.52 a year.

At the lowest end of the scale, Band A properties will rise by £3.18 to £169.68 a year and Band H at the most expensive end will rise by just under £10 to £509.04.

In total, £5,916,160 would be generated from council tax.

The city council’s segment makes up around 16% of the council tax. The rest goes to Lincolnshire County Council, which has set a rise of 3.95%, and the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, who approved a 1.96% increase.

Increases across the board are put down to cuts in government grants to local authorities.

The City of Lincoln Council has pointed to “unprecedented financial challenges” following Chancellor George Osborne’s Spending Review in November 2015 as a reason for the rise.

The authority claims its government grant will drop by 99% over the next four years from £2.585 million to £22,000 in 2019-20.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe said previously: “This is a government bent on dogmatically cutting public spending regardless of the consequences for local people.

“The council now faces a major challenge to find a way to make the savings required in order to balance our books.

“It is inevitable that further budget cuts will be required in the coming years, but we will continue to do all we can to minimise the effect of these cuts on the public and we will prioritise those services that are needed the most in Lincoln.”

The council tax precept for the year 2016/17 will be discussed at an executive councillors’ meeting on Monday, February 29 and will be put to full council on Tuesday, March 1.