The average taxpayer will pay £5 more than they did last year after councillors approved the next financial budget.

To fund the 2020/21 budget, a £5 increase in Hertsmere Borough Council's share of council tax bills was agreed, the same rise as last year. This is an increase of 2.8 per cent per average household for the coming year.

The decision was made at a full council meeting held at the civic offices in Borehamwood on Wednesday.

Under these proposals, a resident in a Band D property would pay an average of just over £182 in council tax to Hertsmere Borough Council for its services for the year 2020/21 - which equates to around 50p per day.

That money is used to fund services including waste and recycling; planning; housing; parks and open spaces; street cleaning and environmental health; benefits administration and contributions towards police community support officers and the citizens advice bureau.

Conservative councillor John Graham, responsible for finance and property, said: "We have taken a cautious approach to setting this year's budget as the latest government spending round was for a single year rather than the multi-year settlement that had been anticipated.

"We have already seen a steep decline in government funding generally since 2010, meaning we are increasingly looking to new and innovative ways to generate income and balance our budget.

"We have agreed an increase of £5 for our share of council tax in the budget for this forthcoming financial year. This will be essential to enable us to continue to deliver our existing and growing range of services for Hertsmere’s residents."

The tax rise agreed at Hertsmere Borough Council is not the only rise taxpayers face.

Hertfordshire County Council has agreed to increase its tax share by 3.99 per cent on average and the share of Police and Crime Commissioner tax you pay could rise by £10.