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Kent County Council is proposing to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent – the highest possible hike without a referendum.

The decision of the Conservative-run cabinet forms part of its wider budget proposal for the year 2018/19 and will now be put to the full council next month for a vote, which it is likely to pass.

The council says it needs to increase taxes to help solve its budget gap – the difference between what it needs to spend to maintain current services and how much money it actually has to spend – which is £113 million.

Money coming from central government has been cut by £46.4 million.

As well as the council tax increase the council announced plans to raise £53.4 million from savings and increased charges. It says it plans to make up the money through efficiency savings but warned: “KCC is fast reaching the point where frontline services are now threatened”.

But the Liberal Democrats - in opposition - pointed to planned staff reductions and £8.2 million of cuts still to be specified.

Council leader Paul Carter said: “My colleagues and I have an instinctive belief in lower, not higher, taxes but we have an equal concern and that is to protect and deliver effective and efficient public services.

“It is a concern that arises not just from our day-to-day roles here at County Hall but from decades of investment in schools, children’s and adults social care, libraries, youth services and transport. It is never easy to see council tax rise. However, our autumn consultation with the public has shown that the respondents will accept manageable council tax increases if these are used to protect front line services.

“Whilst the additional one per cent will raise £6 million, it by no means compensates for the loss of grants but will go some way to protect frontline services.”

The county makes up about 70 per cent of the total council tax bill, with the rest coming from district, borough and town councils along with Kent Police and Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority. All of these are yet to set their 2018 levies.

Where does your council tax go? Council tax is divided between more than one authority to pay for services in the area. Per pound, this is where your council tax in Kent goes: 70p to Kent County Council 12p to your District/Borough Council 9p to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent 4p to Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority 5p to Town and Parish Councils (on average)

Last year the Band D figure that went to the county council was £1,137.82. It will now be £1,237.64 – a rise of £58.78.

Previously the council could only raise council tax by 1.99 per cent, plus a two per cent social care precept – meaning increases were capped at 3.99 percent. But following a national change that allowed local authorities to raise by a further one per cent without requiring a referendum the national cap is now 4.99 per cent, which if passed by KCC will raise an additional £6 million.

Rob Bird, leader of the opposition, said: “Once again, the council tax payer is having to compensate for the Government’s disdain for local government services. Paul Carter states that he has pleaded with his Conservative colleagues in Westminster for more funding. However, it is clear that they weren’t listening or didn’t care.

“Kent’s bus users will be relieved that there should be few cuts to subsidised services next year but the threat is still there for the following years. As always, it will be the most needy and the most vulnerable who will bear the brunt of service cuts.

“It is sad to see county council staff and the front line services they provide being hit with further cuts, particularly in the wake of the Conservative councillors voting themselves an unprecedented 15 per cent pay increase.”

The budget will include the full detail of how much the council will spend on each service for the year and so there will be considerably more detail to follow, but a noticeable change is the council’s U turn on bus subsidies – or what were planned cuts to those subsidies – for ‘socially necessary’ bus routes.

The council subsidises the routes, which are operated by private companies, as they are thought to be a lifeline for people without other transport options.

The £2.25 million planned cut to subsidies is now expected to be £0.45 million.

How much more will you pay?

The table below shows the amount paid to the county council in tax last year compared with the expected increase for this year coming: