COUNCIL tax payers in Kirklees may have to pay an extra 11% to keep West Yorkshire Fire Authority running next year.
The bills for council tax is split between Kirklees Council services, West Yorkshire Fire Authority and West Yorkshire Police Authority.
West Yorkshire Fire Authority needs to increase the portion of council tax it takes, known as the precept, by 11%.
This would mean that the share paid towards the fire authority by a household in Kirklees' band D would go up to £46.40 from £41.62.
The rise is because the Government has taken away
transitional funding given to fire authorities nationally last year to help cover pay increases following the firefighters' dispute. Money-saving modernisation planned by the Government will not free up extra funds for several years.
To help bridge the funding gap, the Government gave the `transitional funding', which fire authorities will have to repay in 2006/7.
Last year West Yorkshire got £1.2m to ensure the burden of increased wages did not fall to council tax payers.
Richard Hewitson, director of finance for Kirklees Council and the fire authority, said: "This will have quite an impact. We will have to fall back on the precept which comes out of council tax. This is why the precept could increase by 11%."
The fire authority's finance and best value committee was meeting today to discuss the budget for next year.
If it feels 11% is too big an increase, the authority will be forced to make savings.
But the Government has warned that no council should increase tax by more than 5%. It will intervene if any council breaches this rule. The council tax level for 2005/6 will be decided in February.
