COUNCIL tax in Hart is set to be frozen for the sixth year in a row tonight.

Members of Hart District Council will meet to discuss the budget, which will also look to prevent any increase in parking charges.

The council tax freeze would mean that a householder in a Band D property in Hart would continue to pay £151.84.

The tax levied by Hart District Council is just one part of the council tax bill ratepayers have to pay, with money also going to Hampshire County Council, fire and police.

Councillor Ken Crookes, cabinet member for economic development and corporate finance, said: “Overall it’s a good budget. We are not doing very much in terms of increasing charges, and parking prices will stay the same.”

Cllr Crookes added the proposed budget includes a contingency plan to cover the expected £150,000 to £200,000 cost of completing Hart’s Local Plan – its blueprint for future housing development.

There will also be inflationary increases for the council’s green waste and housing services, but there will be no increases for car parking, planning, building control and licensing.

The proposed budget also allows for salary increases for the two joint chief executives of Hart, Daryl Phillips and Patricia Hughes, and for a 1.2 per cent salary increase for all staff, which has been agreed nationally.

A report prepared for tonight’s meeting stated that the budget surplus for this year was expected to be £352,000 slightly higher than the £311,000 forecast. General reserves will be nearly £4million by the end of this financial year, it added.

Cllr Crookes said there was some uncertainty about future budgets, with the General Election in May and continued reductions in Government funding.

But he said the district council would look at what savings could be made from its services before considering a council tax increase.