Chichester District Council has increased its portion of the council tax bill by 2.99 per cent.
The rise was approved during a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (March 3). It will take a Band D bill from £192.06 to £197.80 in 2026/27. On top of this, residents face a £15 increase from Sussex Police and an £89.82 increase from the county council.
Council tax income will account for £11.86m of the revenue budget – which covers the day-to-day costs of running the council. The capital budget, which covers one-off costs, stands at £34.16m.
As required by law, the council has balanced its budget for 2026/27 showing a £145,000 surplus, which will be transferred to reserves.
Leader Adrian Moss said they did consider a lower increase in council tax, but felt it was more prudent to raise it by the maximum allowed.
He added: “Many of us have been critical of other councils who have not raised [it] to the maximum and residents are now suffering really badly because of it.”
Deputy leader Jonathan Brown explained that a lower raise would have saved every taxpayer in the district about 1p while costing the council tens of thousands of pounds.
During an earlier meeting, Mark Chilton, cabinet member for finance, said the budget was ‘as robust as it could possibly be in the current circumstances’.
Mr Moss added: “I believe this budget is about investing in the future for our community and I’m really proud of what everyone across all departments have done to bring a really robust budget that is carefully constructed and carefully managed.”
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