A public consultation on Cheshire Constabulary’s budget for the next financial year will close at midnight this Sunday.
The consultation – which was launched by police and crime commissioner David Keane earlier this month – asks local residents if they would support a small increase to the policing precept to see more feet on the beat.
The proposal is to increase the policing precept in local council tax payments by an average of £2 per month (for a band D household). This increase will help Cheshire Police reinvest in neighbourhood policing and tackle serious and complex crime.
The public consultation follows a “disappointing” annual cash settlement from central government where the commissioner said the government has once again shifted the burden of police funding onto the local Cheshire tax payer.
In December, the government announced that Cheshire Constabulary would receive funding to cover unavoidable pressures on policing but it assumes that Cheshire taxpayers will fund almost two thirds of this through an increase of the policing precept.
Mr Keane said: “The government has recognised that we need more money for policing but it is putting the burden on local taxpayers.
“Cheshire Constabulary has made more than £60 million worth of savings since 2010 but with non-pay budgets now over stretched, we have a stark choice to either fund this locally or significantly cut policing numbers.
“With increasing pressures on household budgets, I understand that this proposed government increase to council tax payments is a bitter pill to swallow. However, I been left with no choice but to consult on this difficult option.”
Residents and businesses across Cheshire are being asked to complete a survey to give their views on 2019/20’s precept ahead of the commissioner setting the constabulary’s budget in February.
They can give their views by clicking the following link https://www.cheshire-pcc.gov.uk/what-im-doing/get-involved/public-consultations/open-consultations/budget-consultation/
