City of York Council last night (21 February) formally approved a council tax increase of 4.5 per cent for 2007/08.

The decision will take the Band D charge for council services from £940.77 (excluding fire and police charges and parish precepts) to £982.06 for the forthcoming year. At The increase equates to just over 81p per week for a Band D property. The cost of a Band C property, the charging rate for the majority of properties in York, will be £872.94.

Peter Steed, head of Finance at City of York Council, said: "In setting this next year's budget the council has once again had to balance the need to maintain and develop core services while identifying significant savings to fund cost pressures and reinvestment.

"However, even with this increase, the council's element of York's council tax will remain more than £100 less than the average for comparable authorities and in the lowest three per cent of council tax in the country.  I do recognise though that while the increase is the lowest in North Yorkshire, some residents will find any rise difficult to cope with and I would urge such individuals to contact our Benefits Team on 01904 552240 to see whether they are entitled to help with their council tax bills."