Council tax for Woodley and Earley has been set after Wokingham Borough Council approved its rate at a full council meeting on Thursday 26 February.
The borough has raised the council tax it collects by 4.99% - the maximum it can levy without a local referendum. That increase breaks down as 2.99% for council services and a 2% precept ring-fenced for adult social care. This is on top of the charges for the police, the fire service and the town councils.
The Liberal Democrats backed the rises in the budget, while Conservative and Labour councillors voted against them.
In a statement after the meeting, Pauline Jorgensen, leader of the Conservatives on the council, said residents had been 'shouldered' with a council tax rise. She added:
"While The Lib Dems spoke endlessly of vague future promises, elaborate strategies and ever-expanding plans, the reality of their record was laid bare.
"Conservatives pressed their executive members time and again on failures, delays, and money poured into projects that have delivered nothing.
"In return we heard silence, deflection, or vague assertions that tomorrow would somehow be brighter than today."
She pointed to a £4 million investment in Barkham Solar Farm that has not yet reached contract stage and a claimed 'refusal to listen' to neighbour objections over 20mph speed limits. Cllr Jorgensen represents the Hillside ward in Lower Earley.
Labour group leader Cllr Rachel Burgess (Labour, Norreys) said the government's three-year funding settlement gives the council greater certainty and the chance for revenue to rise over time. Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst) warned the council has lost £43 million of funding over that three-year period.
At town level, Woodley Town Council has raised its council tax by 9.75% after a three-year freeze, while Earley Town Council has agreed a 1% increase. Those rises were agreed at separate meetings last month.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
