POLICE PORTION OF COUNCIL TAX SET TO RISE IN CREWE AND NANTWICH

First Published by: Guardian

Crewe and Nantwich residents will pay more for police services in the next tax year.

But the price hike will keep 23 officers on the beat after the Government imposed massive budget cuts. The police portion of Council Tax in Cheshire is being increased by 3.94 per cent. It will add £5.69 a year or 11p a week to taxpayers’ bills for a band D home. Margaret Ollerenshaw, chairman of Cheshire Police Authority said: "We are aware of the financial strains many people are facing at the moment. 

“We looked carefully at the idea of freezing Council Tax at last year′s level. “After careful consideration, we decided this small increase would help maintain front line policing services and keep the people of Cheshire safe. "It means the reduction in the number of police officers in Cheshire during 2012/13 can be limited to 25, instead of the 48 required if we opted to freeze Council Tax." The total budget for policing Cheshire in 2012/13 will be £172.557 million, compared to £177.21 million in 2011/12.

The annual charge for a band D Home will be £150.22, compared to £144.53 in 2011/12. Police officer numbers are expected to reduce from 1998 to 1973 by March 31, 2013. But the number of community support officers is expected to rise from 215 to 222. Other police staff posts are expected to reduce from 1637 to 1510. This budget is the final one to be set by the 

Police Authority before it is replaced by a police and crime commissioner in November. Ms Ollerenshaw has described it as ‘arguably the most difficult of the 17 budgets set by the Authority’. She said, "We are working against a background of budget cuts - £33 million in savings must be found by 2014/15. 

“That level of saving is not easy. It is depressing to see the level of cuts we are having to make following the steady investment we have made over the life of the Authority to ensure the Constabulary has the capability and capacity to make Cheshire safer and to protect the public from harm.” “As more than 80 per cent of the budget relates to people, it is regrettable that the scale of the cuts means unavoidable reductions in the number of police officers and staff.

"We were offered a one-off grant to freeze Council Tax for 2012/13. “If we had accepted, the result would have been a shortfall for the following year when the grant was not available. “We must take a long term view of the impact of our decisions on policing.”  

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

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