West Sussex County Council1 residents will see their first rise in council tax bills in six years after councillors voted through 18 million of cuts.
Residents living in band D homes will see their bills rise by 45.90 from April after 42 councillors of 67 present voted in favour of the budget proposals at County Hall in Chichester this afternoon after more than three hours debate. Twenty-five opposition councillors abstained from the vote proposing the 3.95 per cent council tax rise. A Liberal Democrat amendment to spend half of 6.2 million granted to the council by central government on the roads network was voted down.
Conservative Cllr Jeremy Hunt, the council’s finance lead, said the rise was done “not happily, not glibly and not without soul searching”.
References
- ^ West Sussex County Council (www.westsussex.gov.uk)