RESIDENTS in Ryedale are facing a rise in their council tax bills, amid continued cuts in Government funding.

Ryedale District Council (RDC) looks set to increase its share of the annual bill by £5 from April. It is currently £186.05.

The 2.7 per cent increase would mean that, combined with predicted rises in the county council's share of the bill, police and fire precepts, residents could be paying about £80 more per year for a typical Band D property in the 2018/19 financial year.

RDC's financial strategy up to 2022 was discussed at a meeting of the policy and resources committee on Thursday night.

It detailed £436,000 of savings in the 2018/19 budget, which was described by the council's finance manager Peter Johnson as "robust, realistic and prudent".

The strategy itself outlined the difficulties faced by the authority, including the reductions in revenue support from central government.

Cllr Luke Ives said: "There's no doubt that funding for local authorities is extremely difficult at the moment.

"We are having to do an awful lot to balance the books and we face difficult decisions."

However, he said that there had been no proposal from the committee to increase council tax by three per cent (approximately £5.50) rather than £5. The higher figure, which could be implemented without a referendum, would raise about £11,000 extra for the council.

"We are in a position whereby we do not need to increase the burden on the tax-payer," he said. "We are approaching the financial storm ahead from a position of strength and we have a firm financial footing, and that is to be commended."

He added that there was good news in that the difficulty of delivering services in a large rural district was recognised by the Government with a grant of £113,000.

The committee also heard that the authority will be getting £27,000 extra from the Department of Work and Pensions to deal with housing issues arising from the implementation of universal credit.

The financial strategy was approved by the committee with eight votes for and one abstention.

It will go before full council for approval or amendment on Thursday, February 22.

North Yorkshire County Council's executive recently agreed on a 2.99 per cent tax increase - plus an extra two per cent increase specifically for adult social care. This equates to a £59.35 increase for a typical Band D home.

However, the county council is continuing to see significant cuts. In the medium-term financial plan, officers said the county council has already delivered £142m of savings.

"It is estimated that a further £44m will be required from 2018/19 to 2021/22," they added. "The aggregate savings requirement of £186m broadly equates to a reduction of over a third in the council’s spending power since 2011."

The police and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan recently announced that the police precept increase had been agreed at £11.50. Ms Mulligan said: "It was clear from my consultation that the public are prepared to pay on average about £1 more per month, so I am pleased the panel has approved my proposal.

"However, due to cost pressures including changing demand, wages, pensions and inflation, we still need to save about £10 million over the medium term."

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue are set to decide on February 16 on a mooted three per cent tax increase - or about £2 on a Band D household.