Content

Decision
 
RESOLVED that
Cabinet:
 
1.1)  recommended
to Council that the council tax levy for 2026/27 be increased by
2.99% equivalent to £6.28 for an average Band D
property.
1.2) recommended to the
Council that the total Council Tax levies for 2026/27 (see table
2), which amount to £11,540,758 be utilised as
follows:
• An amount of
£9,328,807 is utilised to balance the Council’s 2026/27
General Fund budget.
• An amount of
£2,211,951 is used to pay Town and Parish Council
requirements.
1.3) recommended to the
Council that the special expenses as proposed in paragraph 7.2
(tables 3 and 4), are incorporated in the Council Tax
setting.
 
Reasons for
decision
 
To enable the Council to set a balanced budget
for 2026/27 before 11 March 2026, which is a requirement of the
Local Government Finance Act 1992 (LGFA 1992).
To include the Parish and Town Council levies
in the total Council Tax levies for Hertsmere.
 
Alternative Options
Considered
 
As noted above it is a statutory requirement to
present a balanced budget, whereby the net budget requirement or
gross spend on service provision less income from rents, fees and
charges, specific grant funding and other contributions is balanced
by an equivalent level of funding.
 
The proposed revenue budget 2026/27 presented
showed the net budget requirement of £18.3m being funded
partly from core government grant funding totalling £8.9m
with the remaining £9.3m of our funding coming from local
Council Tax levies.
 
In balancing the 2026/27 budget, the Council
has used a combination of realised efficiency gains, increasing
fees and charges, utilising the Council’s asset base to
generate income, specific grant funding and a proposed 2.99%
increase in Council Tax, equivalent to £6.28 for an average
Band D property, which is the subject of this report.
 
The Council could have considered further
efficiency measures or service changes or could consider
utilisation of its reserves, albeit this would be a one-off
use:
• Utilisation of General Fund Balance -
The Council has approved a policy to maintain the current level of
general funds in real terms. As a result, the use of General Fund
reserves to balance the revenue budget will be contrary to what has
been agreed by the Council. Although the Council can utilise its
general fund balances to help balance its budget, it would be
imprudent as this is a finite resource that is typically used for
exceptional one-off contingencies.
• Utilisation of Earmarked Reserves -
Earmarked reserves are held for specific purposes and not to fund
the revenue budget deficits.