Here’s one tax which is actually going DOWN

Tax payments to Bucks Fire and Rescue Service are to be reduced by one per cent for the forthcoming financial year starting on April 1.

The band D charge for the financial year will go down to £58.54, or about £1.12 a week.

Members of Bucks & Milton Keynes fire authority set a budget for 2015/16 of £28,740,000 at a meeting yesterday (Wednesday), which is about £68,000 less than this year’s while also accepting a grant payment of £182,000 from the Government in lieu of a council tax rise.

About 4p from every £1 of council tax paid in the county goes to the fire service with the rest going towards the cost of services provided by councils and the police.

Chief fire officer Jason Thelwell said: “We started planning for budget reductions long before they came in, and we have worked hard to ensure that we are in a healthy financial position.

“Our staff have perfected the art of managing their budgets so that they can manage with less rather than simply do less, and they are a credit to our community.”

Councillor Adrian Busby, chairman of the fire authority said: “This fire authority is dedicated to helping the public by reducing living costs and making sensible savings, while ensuring high quality services to protect them are maintained.

“It is always important to remember that this is not our money.

“We are the guardians of the public purse and we take our responsibilities very seriously.”

Council tax bills in Bucks, which will be sent out next month, will include the following totals per home to pay for Bucks Fire and Rescue in 2015/16:

Band A, £39.03

Band B, £45.53

Band C, £52.04

Band D, £58.54

Band E, £71.55

Band F, £84.56

Band G, £97.57

Band H, £117.08