COUNCIL taxpayers in north Wales face another rise in their policing bill in the coming year.

Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones is proposing to raise the precept by 3.79 per cent, which means an annual increase of £9 for a band D property, bringing it to just under £250.

The North Wales Police and Crime Panel is being told that according to a recent public survey which he had conducted, of 873 answering a question about the precept 63 per cent were of the opinion that the tax should rise by five per cent or more.

There were 27 per cent believing it should be 2.5 per cent or less, ten per cent didn’t know. No rise at all nor a decrease in the precept were not options in the survey.

In a report Mr Jones says a cut in the government grant of 1.4 per cent is offset by an increase in the tax base of 0.82 per cent.

He said: “There is considerable uncertainty over what north Wales will receive from the police funding formula in 2018-19 and beyond.

“In terms of austerity the prudent course for a public body would be to increase council tax and increase reserves."

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