8 February 2008

The council tax rise to pay for the fire and rescue service in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes is expected to be £2.62 for the year – about an extra 5p a week – for a band D council tax payer.

Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority will be asked to approve a five per cent rise at its meeting on 15 February. It would put the annual band D charge up from £52.33 to £54.95.

The recommendation was made today by the authority's executive committee, whose members looked at a number of options before deciding to put forward a budget for 2008-09 of £27.453 million. Last year's budget was £26.362 million.

Councillor David Rowlands, chairman of the committee and the authority, said: "The government’s contribution to this year’s budget was only one per cent higher than last year’s, and it is proposing rises of only 0.5 per cent for the next two years.

“These tight settlements give us very little room for manoeuvre, and increase the percentage of funding we have to find from council tax payers.

“Only last week the government praised us for our continued success in helping reduce the number of fire deaths and injuries to a national 50-year low. We would have appreciated a little extra money with the thank-you letter.”

He added: “We will continue to provide our communities with the best possible emergency service, to do everything in our power to reduce the number of emergency incidents that happen in the first place and to improve the safety and quality of life for the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority receives about 4p in every pound of your total council tax bill. The rest pays for council and police services.