Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) looks set to raise council tax levels at a meeting tomorrow evening - but insists the rise is well below inflation levels.

Each year council tax levels are based on TRDC average Band D Council Tax, with the other bands being based around that level. (Band A is the lowest and Band H is the highest).

Matthew Bedford, District Councillor for Abbots Langley and Bedmond said the authority has managed to keep the level below inflation for many years.

The proposed level of council tax for a Band D property is £168.90 for 2018 to 2019 which is an increase of 3 per cent from the years 2007/08.

Inflation over the same 11-year period is more than 25 per cent, he said, so Council Tax has gone up much less than other costs.

The main reason for a proposed increase in council tax levels is due to a reduction in central government funding, which has reduced by two-thirds since 2010, from £5.7m to £1.9m, a shortfall of nearly £4m.

The Lib Dem councillor said that three Rivers has managed to achieve efficiency savings totalling nearly £4m since 2005 – without reducing services to the public.

“We continue to seek further savings wherever possible, as well as finding additional income to make sure certain services do not need to be subsidised from council tax,” he added.

In addition to a number of new initiatives that will be announced tomorrow in the council budget cllr Bedford said the council plans to maintain and improve waste collection.

They also want to improve parking and invest in accommodation for leisure centres and local families who find themselves homeless.

He said: “The main priority for the Lib Dems running Three Rivers is to deliver efficient services that are value-for-money. The Lib Dems never forget whose money we are spending.”

This comes amid speculation that council tax levels will rise nationally in April according to a survey which found that 80 per cent of councils said they had fears about funding.

According to the 2018 Stage of Local Government Finance research 93 per cent of councils that took part in the survey indicated increasing charges as well as council tax rises to cover council costs such as social care, waste disposal, parking and the upkeep of local parks and facilities.

Despite council tax rises nationwide the Abbots Langley and Bedmond Councillor says the Three Rivers Council will make sure that this does not affect low income families and that they still offer 100 per cent discount for people on the lowest income.

Cllr Bedford said: “We will retain our existing system next year, helping those least able to pay who will not have to pay anything.”