Members of the Avon Fire Authority (AFA) have voted to increase the Fire Council Tax precept for 2018/19 by 3%, with a Band D property bill going up by £2.07 over the year.
Photo courtesy of Avon Fire & Rescue Service
At a meeting on Friday 9th February, Members agreed the rise of 3%, which means the annual bill for a Band D property will rise by £2.07 from £69.28 to £71.35.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service’s budget is made up by a combination of sources including local council tax and central Government grants.
With funding received from central Government reducing by around 7%, savings of £1.7m have been identified in order to set a balanced budget.
Chair of Avon Fire Authority, Councillor Donald Davies, said: “All Members of Avon Fire Authority understand that even a small increase in the amount we ask for through council tax presents a challenge to some members of our community. As a result increasing our precept is never a decision we take lightly.
“Officers were very clear that the risk of not adding just over 4p a week to the average council tax payer would impact directly on frontline services.
“Last calendar year our staff attended nearly 12,000 incidents, rescuing almost 600 people. Staff also visited over 9,000 homes to provide safety advice and fitted 11,000 smoke alarms free of charge.
“We know how much people value the services provided by Avon Fire & Rescue and the view of the Authority was that most would consider a modest real-terms increase as a price worth paying.
“Despite this year’s increase Avon Fire Authority’s precept continues to be among the lowest in the country.”
