Council tax bills to increase

Rochdale Borough Council recently agreed that there would be no increase in Council Tax this year. However, council tax bills will still rise slightly due to increased policing costs.

The police precept - over which the council has no control -  has risen by 1.99 per cent.

This means a Band D council tax payer will see the bill rise from £1,537.33 to £1540.30 from April, an overall increase of 0.19 per cent.

For 2014/15 the Government has decided that any increase in council tax of 2.0% or above will be deemed excessive. Any authority proposing an excessive increase must hold a referendum to obtain the approval of its council tax payers. On your council tax bill you will see that the increase relating to police services is quoted at 2.0%, however the actual increase is 1.99% and therefore it is not classed as excessive.