Low council tax rise for North Devon

BELTS have been tightened at North Devon Council as councillors yesterday (Monday) approved one of the lowest council tax rises for several years. The council rubberstamped a �14.77 million budget which will see its portion of the council tax increase by

BELTS have been tightened at North Devon Council as councillors yesterday (Monday) approved one of the lowest council tax rises for several years.The council rubberstamped a �14.77 million budget which will see its portion of the council tax increase by 2.5 per cent, taking the amount paid on a Band D property to �160.57.Council Leader Mike Harrison said it had been a very difficult budget to set:"Like any business we are predicting significant reductions in income levels across the board," he said."At the same time we anticipate the recession will lead to an increased demand for our services, particularly in the areas of benefits and housing. "We will need to look very closely at all of the things we do to make sure we meet the very exacting targets we have set without significantly reducing the levels of service to the people of North Devon."In 2006/07 councillors voted to increase the arte by 4.5 per cent - this fell to 2.5 in 07/08 but rose again to 3.9 last year.