The city council voted to put up council tax by 4.99 per cent last night as members backed a budget totalling about £1.1 billion for the coming financial year.
The 4.99 per cent includes two per cent to be ring-fenced for adult social care – the biggest single area of council spending.
Precepts from the Sussex police and crime commissioner and East Sussex Fire Authority take the average band D council tax bill to £2,455.79 – or just over £200 a month – up from £2,338.06.
The local authority, which must set a legally balanced budget each year, was facing a forecasted £36 million shortfall.
This was reduced to £16 million with additional funding from the government.
The rise in council tax and budget cuts addressed the remaining deficit.
Read more: Labour hits back at criticism over planned £15 million cuts to council budget
The cost of running day-today services in the coming year is expected to be about £880 million, with £198 million of the funding coming from council tax receipts.
The council’s capital investment programme for 2025-26 is £246 million, taking total spending to £1.1 billion.
Deputy leader of the council Jacob Taylor said: “Increases in funding as well as actions to address service pressures have reduced our published budget gap from £36 million to £16 million which is reflected in the budget we have before us today.
Jacob Taylor “This is a significantly improved position – and I am pleased that the Labour government seems to recognise the importance of local government and the need to provide more sustainable funding.
“I’m also pleased that they’ve announced a longer-term review of funding and that they are likely to provide medium-term settlements going forward.”
He hopes that the current financial year – to the end of next month – will finish with an underspend.
If so, the spare money would go towards short breaks and school holiday provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Councillor Taylor said that the i360 would cost council tax payers £2.2 million every year for the next 16 years.
He said: “That’s £2.2 million missing from our revenue budget versus what was promised – the Green Party tax that residents will have to pay for years to come.”
Council leader Bella Sankey said in the coming year the council was looking to bring in park and ride, start restoring heritage lanterns on the seafront and continue work on Madeira Terraces.
Councillor Sankey said: “We will make road and pedestrian safety improvements. We will complete Hove Beach Park, draw up plans for a new leisure facility on the site of the King Alfred, draw up plans for a pool at Withdean and get going with Moulsecoomb hub.
“We’ll launch our economic growth board, our exciting seafront development board and our opt-out scheme for weed maintenance. And we’ll develop our new city plan to build the decent and affordable houses that thousands of our residents so desperately need.”
The Green leader of the opposition Steve Davis described the budget as having “more cuts – but with a different coloured axe”.
“The average household will be £770 worse off, taking account of inflation, in 2029 than today, as earnings growth slows down and price rises, especially in housing, begin to bite,” he said.
“This government’s decision not to move up the thresholds at which different income tax rates are paid is also digging into earnings. Inequality will worsen, with the poorest ten per cent seeing much bigger losses than the richest.”
Conservative leader Alistair McNair criticised the government for slowing economic growth and criticised the effects of increased national insurance contributions for hurting businesses, charities and schools.
Alistair McNair The councillor criticised Labour council cuts to the warm homes strategy “to save a measly £15,000”.
He also argued that money spent on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) could be used to fund libraries threatened with closure or cuts to their opening hours.
Fellow Conservative Anne Meadows said money from the anti-racism strategy could be used instead to fund libraries and warm spaces because the council should know what racism was.
“We feel that cutting back on the libraries at the same time as cutting winter fuel allowances is short-sighted in the extreme,” she said.
“We need safe warm spaces for our elderly and families – and cutting back on family hubs, the warm homes strategy and attacking the young people’s youth-led grants is to turn your back on all families in some way.”
The Greens and Conservatives put forward a series of modest amendments to the budget but they were voted down.
The general fund, capital budget and housing revenue account budgets all passed.
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