DEVON and Somerset’s fire authority has agreed to raise its council tax take by the highest amount it can to be prevent it from being in “even direr straits” in the future.

Members of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority met in Clyst St George February 19 to approve the fire service’s budget for next year, including its council tax levels.

Councillors representing Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay were given the choice to freeze the authority’s council tax, but this was unanimously rejected.

The decision means that average bills will rise by just over £2.50 per year, giving the authority an extra £1.5M towards firefighting in 2019/20.

The fire authority has had its central government funding cut from around £29.4M in 2015/16 to around £22.6M in 2018/19 – a reduction of more than 25 per cent.

The level of grant funding will fall again in 2019/20 by a further 2.91 per cent, or £657,000.

In this context, councillors were presented with a choice between Option A (to freeze council tax at the current level) or Option B (to raise it by 2.99 per cent, the maximum amount allowable).

Councillor Simon Coles, who chairs the authority’s resources committee, said it was “regrettable” that the fire service had not been allowed to raise its average annual bills by up to £5, claiming it would put its services on a firmer financial footing.

He said: “The Somerset Rivers Authority, they have raised theirs by £12 per year. With Avon and Somerset Constabulary, theirs has gone up by £24 per year.

“There is a massive disparity in the funding regimes available to use.”

Mr Coles argued in favour of Option B, which would mean Band D households would pay £86.52 a year – the equivalent of an extra 21 pence per month on last year’s amount.

He said: “If we go with option A, we will be in even direr straights than we are now. We have to protect the people of Somerset and Devon.”

The increase, which was approved unanimously by the authority’s members, will give the authority an overall revenue budget (for day-to-day spending, including firefighters’ salaries) of £75.1M for 2019/20 – a rise of just over £1.5M on the previous year.

Both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel within the service will receive a two per cent pay rise, effective from July 2019.

Councillor Mark Healey welcomed the decision, but warned that rises elsewhere to fund adult social care and children’s services could put “a burden on the taxpayer”, and called on the government to provide more funding.

He said: “We need to go to the government with a proper business case on this. But paying an extra 21 pence per money is good value for money.”