Police authority votes to freeze council tax (From York Press)

Police authority votes to freeze council tax

11:39am Monday 13th February 2012 in News By Jennifer Bell, Crime reporter

POLICE chiefs have voted to freeze their share of council tax bills for next year.

The North Yorkshire Police Authority today chose to accept a one-off, £1.84 million Government grant which will allow its council tax precept in 2012/13 to be pegged at current levels, rather than being increased by 3.135 per cent.

The decision was taken at a meeting at the Novotel Hotel, where the organisation, which is aiming to save £28 million over four years, set its budget for next year.

North Yorkshire Police's Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell said: "We are in a very good financial position and this has been recognised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

"As of Monday morning, crime was down 8.2 per cent compared to last year in North Yorkshire, and the introduction of an automatic switchboard has proved a great success.

"We are very well-placed for the future financially. This is an enviable position among police authorities and our prudent approach has stood us in excellent stead."

Mr Maxwell also congratulated the police authority, led by chairman Jane Kenyon, as it agreed what will be its final policing plan before the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner and the formation of a police and crime panel in November, saying they had left a "lasting legacy".

The authority's policing budget for 2012/13 has been set at £138.5 million - almost £2 million less than 2011/12.

Miss Kenyon said: "There has been a lot of debate about whether or not the authority should accept the council tax freeze grant or increase the precept.

"The decision means we are not placing any additional burden on our communities to continue providing the best possible policing service that we can, but it could mean a small shortfall in the baseline budget in a couple of years.

"However, we are confident the incoming police and crime commissioner will be able to manage that shortfall, should it occur.” North Yorkshire currently has 1,411 officers.

Mr Maxwell said that in the “worst case scenario” this number would be cut to 1,300 by 2015/16, but he said it was more likely to be in the region of 1,320 to 1,350.

He said as more experienced officers left the force over coming years, they would be replaced by junior “cheaper” officers and vowed that cuts in police numbers would not hamper falling crime levels.