A cash strapped council is set to raise its council tax by £5 a month as it aims to gain an additional £300,000 a year.
Eastleigh Borough Council is planning to raise council tax by 3.65 per cent for the next financial year.
If approved, the new council element of the Band D tax would be £141.97, an increase of £5 from 2023/24.
The change follows an analysis by the Shared Data Unit of Department for Levelling Up figures that showed that Eastleigh has debt of £350,487,000, over £60million more than Southampton.
But the authority says the rise is below inflation which as of December, stood at four per cent.
READ MORE: This is how much debt per resident each local council has
Council leader, Cllr Keith House said: “We are very proud that we are now entering the third decade where we have been able to deliver a real-terms cut in the Eastleigh Borough Council element of the Council Tax bill, while still continuing to deliver high-quality services.
“Our commitment to ensuring value for money through prudent financial management, without any significant reductions in the frontline services that our residents depend on, has always been a key objective for the Council.”
The Government allows increases in council tax by up to 2.99 per cent or £5 a month.
These can only be exceeded with a positive referendum result.
The increase combined with the increase in taxbase is forecasted to generate an additional £318,000 per year for the authority.
It comes as collection rates have remained higher than expected in Eastleigh over the last few years meaning the Collection Fund have a higher than planned surplus which will lead to an extra £236,000 for the council.
The leader of the council previously said its debts are secured against commercial property or long-term income from housing adding that the approach is delivering infrastructure first on new homes and achieving "sustainable long-term income".
It follows a Best Value Notice issued in December 2023 by the then minister for Equalities and Levelling Up Communities.
A report was commissioned to investigate the council's finances which identified two principle concerns relating to the level of borrowing and a lack of capacity and expertise in several teams that are "critical to the successful delivery of the Council’s plans".
Papers for a meeting of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel on Thursday say though: "It is it important for councillors to be reassured that the council is in regular communication with DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) and that this Budget and other strategies, such as the Capital Strategy elsewhere on the agenda, are consistent with the Best Value Notice and make significant steps towards responding to all the recommendations."
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