Council tax bills across Wyre Forest are set to rise in April and households will see increases of around £80 a year.

All bodies funded through council tax have now set their budgets for 2019-20, raising their charges by varying amounts, and seeing overall increases of around 4% to fund services. 

Wyre Forest District Council have raised its share of the council tax by 2.39%, or just £5 for the year at Band D, following a full council meeting on Wednesday February 27.

Worcestershire County Council has increased its share of council tax by 3.99% (which includes a 1% increase to fund adult social care), Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority by 2.98%, and the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner by 9.94%.

This means overall increases of around £80 a year for Wyre Forest properties in Band D.

Exact increases will range from £75.40 to £81.28 depending on which town or parish residents live in.

The majority of householders will face smaller increases, as almost three quarters of all homes in Wyre Forest are in Band A to C.

Cabinet Member for Resources Councillor Nathan Desmond said: “We send out the council tax demands, but we keep only 12 pence in every £1 we collect. The rest is passed on to county, town or parish councils and the blue light services.

“We have tried to keep our charges for district services as low as possible. When we consulted local people about our proposals in December, the majority of respondents were in favour of a modest increase in council tax as they clearly value the services we provide such as waste, recycling, parks and open spaces, planning and economic regeneration.

“We will continue to look for more efficient ways of doing things and are keen to continue to grow our income so we keep any future increases to a minimum.”

A full breakdown of where people’s money goes will be included in a leaflet sent out with council tax bills in March.