FRUSTRATED fire bosses have hit out in a funding argument by slating central government grant calculations.
The West Yorkshire Fire Authority has honoured a pledge to peg next year's precept rise to a government target of 5%.
The average local council tax payer will have to find an extra 3p a week to fund the fire service in 2005/06, paying a total of £36.
But Clr Robert Light, who chairs the Fire Authority, said they had been determined not to impose unnecessary cuts and weren't prepared to rob taxpayers' pockets.
He added: "We have managed to balance the books by ploughing £300,000 of cash reserves into the budget and by wringing out internal cost and efficiency improvements through fire service modernisation, but we can't rely on these props being available in future years."
Chief fire officer Phil Toase was even harsher in his criticism of the central government calculations which set out how much each local fire authority receives.
He said: "We have argued for many years that successive formula for allocating central grant support have discriminated against West Yorkshire because of our topography and patterns of risk, but it seems as though every change brings its own disadvantages.
"We have now received the minimum increase in grant for the third consecutive year. However prudent we try to be, our efforts seem to attract little recognition."
