Nottingham residents are being asked whether they support a proposed council tax freeze or would prefer an increase to fund further investment in frontline services.
The council is proposing to freeze council tax next year after making major improvements to its finances, but now wants residents to have their say on proposals.
Last year’s budget included an extra £25 million for frontline services while limiting a council tax increase to 3.5%, the lowest in 18 years. Since then, the council has invested a further £20.4 million in frontline services.
The council has set out a fully balanced draft budget for 2027/28 and a Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) which would see additional investment in services if approved, including more community protection officers and extending library opening hours, as well as significantly reducing council debt, all without the need to increase Council Tax.
Local residents, businesses and partner organisations can give their views on the proposals as part of a 6-week consultation including public meetings and a survey open until 30 November.
Although the draft budget is currently based on a zero increase in Council Tax, the council wants to use the consultation to set out how much additional funding for services could be raised by increasing Council Tax so residents can feed back whether they favour a freeze or increase.
- Freezing council tax would result in annual savings of between £77.91 and £233.74 per household.
- Increasing council tax by 1% would raise an extra £1.7 million to spend on services while a £4.99% increase would generate an extra £8.3 million in funding
Councillor Ethan Radford, the Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “Over the last year we have invested £45m in Nottingham people and the services which local people have told us matter most, from fixing potholes and putting more community safety officers on the streets to free bulky waste collections, free holiday swimming for under 16s and free access to our leisure centres for older people.
“We have been able to do this thanks to our improved financial position and thanks to the increased funding from the Government. At the same time, we delivered the lowest council tax increase for 18 years, and now we are proposing to go even further than that.
“We are now in a position to deliver investment in services and balance the council budget, while also freezing council tax. This would mean no increase in council tax. As the council’s financial position becomes stronger, we believe it’s only right that those benefits are passed on to the Nottingham taxpayer. Freezing Council Tax will keep millions of pounds in the pockets of Nottingham households at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living.
“While we’re confident we can balance the books without increasing council tax, we still want to give residents the option to have their say on if they want us to raise council tax, if so by how much, and how they would like us to use that extra revenue if we were to.
“We will be making a final decision on council tax early in the new year, but we would welcome as many residents as possible to engage with this year’s consultation on the budget and council tax, and if they agree with our proposals.”
The draft budget and MTFP will go to a Full Council meeting in March next year for final approval.
For more information on the draft Budget and to complete the survey, visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/budget27-28.