A budget for 2025/26 has been approved by Uttlesford District Council.
The budget aims to maintain service levels, protect residents on low incomes, and limit the rise in council tax bills to a below-inflation rate of 2.99 per cent.
Despite government funding cuts and mounting financial pressures on local councils, the district has expressed confidence in its financial position.
It plans to continue investing in services, the decarbonisation of its estate, and will set aside nearly £20 million for new council homes.
The budget was approved by councillors at a meeting on February 25.
The 2.99 per cent increase in the district council element of council tax equates to an additional £5.28 per year for residents in a Band D property.
This increase is intended to allow the council to continue providing essential services, while also supporting the most generous local council tax support scheme in Essex for vulnerable residents and those on low incomes.
Rents for the authority's 2,800 council house tenants will increase by 2.7 per cent, bringing average rents to £129.61 per week.
This remains substantially lower than equivalent rents in the private sector.
Cllr Neil Hargreaves, portfolio holder for finance and local economy at Uttlesford District Council, said: "The 2025/26 budget process has been an unusually challenging one.
"This is due to factors outside of our control.
"The uncertainty, lateness and lack of clarity on funding announcements from government, coupled with the announcement on local government reorganisation made late in the financial year, means we have needed to adapt and adjust plans at short notice."
He also said that nearly £3 million has been set aside for the reorganisation work that is to come.
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Cllr Hargreaves added: "Our former auditors, BDO, failed to carry out four years of audits, but under most welcome government instruction for all councils, the backlog years of accounts are now published and closed.
"Despite the ongoing constraints, I am pleased that we have produced a balanced, prudent budget that protects services and our most vulnerable residents whilst including some additional resource for exciting projects."
The council's Blueprint Uttlesford programme has reportedly produced £2.5 million in savings without cuts to key services.
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