THE county council has defended its plans to increase council tax by 3.75 per cent —equivalent to an extra £57 a year for a band D property reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The increase is split between a planned 1.75 per cent general increase and a two per cent increase in the adult social care precept.
This would mean an increase in the county council element of Council Tax of £1.09 a week for an average Band D property.
This means that the total Essex County Council precept for band D is set to rise from £1,522.53 to £1,579.59.
Upper-tier councils are allowed to increase up to a maximum of 4.99 per cent.
The announcement comes just days after the council voted to ask the Government to allow it to cancel elections scheduled for May to help, it says, facilitate the reorganisation of local government.
The council finance portfolio holder, Councillor Chris Whitbread, said: “We could have taken the easier option and put council tax up by the full amount of 4.99 per cent that we allowed to do. We haven’t done that.
“We would have done it if there are elections – we’ve looked at the council finances, we’ve taken very tough decisions and in the backdrop of the damage that has been done since the October budget with increasing National Insurance, that is social care alone has had a £50 million impact that we are not fully funded for.
“Despite all that, we’ve done everything we can To make sure we will not charge £1 more than we absolutely have to to the residents of Essex.
The council says it will achieve £43 million worth of savings in its 2025/26 budget but faces a growing budget gap.
After delivering 100 per cent of all existing planned savings, the gap is expected to be £26 million in 2026/27 and rise to £129m by 2028/29 before further tax rises or additional grants that may be imposed in future years.
Councillor Whitbread said: “Every year, we’ve seen the gaps increase. But we are a great council for finding efficiencies.
“This year, we found £43 million worth of savings. In future years there will be savings and efficiencies such as through AI and such.
“Whatever happens with local government reorganisation and the mayoral elections – putting that to one side- this is a council with a really strong track record of delivering to make sure we address that gap on an annual basis.
“The gap is the gap we will address it on an annual basis. Because we are listening all the time and changing all the time that is why we probably got one of the boldest transformation programs of any Council to deliver £100 million pounds of savings towards the end of the medium term.”
Essex County Council’s Cabinet will consider whether to recommend the Everyone’s Essex Annual Plan and Budget 2025/26 on January 21. The budget and plan will then be discussed for approval at a meeting of the Full Council on February 13.