Mansfield Council planning to freeze council tax again amid cost-of-living crisis

New papers reveal the gap will instead be funded through savings, reserves and increased fees and charges.

The authority needs to find £1,894,000 to balance the books in 2023/24 – its spending is higher than forecast due to rising inflation, energy pressures and increased staff pay.

The council said in October £332,000 has been added to its costs through electricity increases, with gas budgets rising by £254,000, while a further £802,000 has been added because of a £1,925 pay award for all council staff.

Council papers in October outlined ways of plugging the gap, including £9,000 in cost reductions, £755,000 in establishment savings and £142,000 in income generation.

A further £18,000 would come from ‘service reductions’, with £473,000 in corporate reserves, £247,000 from existing balances and £250,000 from the Wildflower Rise housing development.

The plans have been backed by the council’s scruting committee, apart from a proposal to reduce the parks team two full-time employees – instead, the committee has asked the council to find the £53,789 expected to be generated through voluntary redundancies.

The council’s cabinet is set to discuss the scrutiny committee’s proposals at a meeting on December 12.

Papers for cabinet members say: “Members were supportive that the executive’s draft budget did not include any proposal to increase the council’s element of council tax.

“[This is] given the current cost-of-living crisis and the possibility of other precepting bodies raising their element of the tax.”

If the authority does freeze its bills, it would be the second year running in which precepts have not risen.

However, residents in Mansfield could still see their wider council tax bills rise in 2023/24 if other authorities which make up the overall cost increase their precepts in April.

The Conservative-led Nottinghamshire Council has been told it can raise bills by 5 per cent, including 3 per cent for regular services and 2 per cent for social care.

The police, fire service and, in the case of Warsop, parish council precepts could also all rise.