RESIDENTS in York are facing a seven per cent hike in council tax which would pump up the average yearly bill by almost £50.

The recommended rise comes in the report for City of York Council's £137m 2001/2002 budget, which will go before the authority's approvals and social services committee on Tuesday.

But Liberal Democrat and Conservative opponents today attacked the plans.

The council's Liberal Democrat group leader, Coun Steve Galloway, said: "We are very concerned that for the second year running Labour is proposing a council tax increase which is three times the rate of inflation. We believe that will be a particular hardship for pensioners."

He said the budget proposals offered nothing to modernise and maintain the city's assets, such as swimming pools, car parks, roads and footpaths, or to provide better leisure facilities for teenagers or extra crime control, such as CCTV in streets.

Prospective Conservative Parliamentary candidate for York, Michael McIntyre, dubbed the increase "a New Labour stealth tax, giving with one hand and taking away with the other".

He said the proposed tax rise would mean the average York household would be paying almost £150 more next year than they were in 1997.

The budget report includes a range of proposals to save £4.5m in the face of a £7.5m rise in costs and features plans to spend £3m on new services and £21m on building projects.

Wide-ranging savings proposals include a shake-up of social services with jobs cuts and reduced services, increase in car park charges, cuts in council grants to the disabled scheme Shopmobility and increased crematorium fees.

Today, council chief executive David Atkinson said the proposed budget, which shows an increase of almost £7m, was drawn up in the face of a "poor" annual settlement from the Government.

But the Government has said York's increased local government finance settlement grant is in line with the average for comparable authorities.

A government spokesman said grants are distributed using Standard Spending Assessments (SSA).

"In the two previous settlements to 1998/99, York received an average SSA increase of 2.2 per cent each year. Since then, York has received an annual average increase of 4.1 per cent," he said.

Mr Atkinson said: "The budget report does its best to protect and enhance services. City of York Council remains one of the most poorly-funded authorities in the country, yet our performance in key areas such as education and social services is consistently among the best."

The authority says areas which could benefit from nearly £3m of extra investment include: social services getting an extra £800,000 for lower residential and nursing care charges and extra places; schools getting £525,000 to raise standards; roads and footpaths getting an extra £270,000; £294,000 to recycling and other waste management; £145,000 into housing; £122,000 into leisure services and £50,000 for the York Challenge Fund.

It is also proposed to pump £21m into capital projects like the Local Transport Plan, spend £1.1m improving school buildings and fund a £500,000 revamp of Edmund Wilson swimming pool.

Updated: 16:05 Thursday, February 01, 2001