FINAL budget recommendations which include a council tax increase and up to £100 million for capital investments have been agreed by the council’s top team.

Detailed billion-pound proposals confirmed by the Cabinet will now go before a full Buckinghamshire council for debate, on February 24.

Among its recommendations is a 1.99 per cent hike in basic council tax from April, together with a two per cent increase in the Adult Social Care Precept to support elderly and vulnerable people.

READ MORE: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse – a council tax hike!

Buckinghamshire Council leader Cllr Martin Tett said the pandemic had made budget setting “difficult and challenging”.

“This is a set of proposals focussed almost entirely on getting us through the next year and hopefully then to more predictable times,” he said.

Bucks Free Press:

Cllr Tett: 'Pandemic made budget setting difficult and challenging'

The council has also included extra funding of £4 million to clear blocked drains and carry out “much-needed structural repairs”.

“We need to do more in this area,” said Cllr Tett.

READ MORE: Town expansion ‘costs’ rise to £131m – with relief road completion scheduled in 2030

More than £2 million is proposed to cover “significant” income loss across services and pressures in children’s services.

Cabinet also seeks to add to the capital programme up to £100 million worth of longer-term schemes, funded through borrowing.

Cllr Tett said the budget “paves the way for longer-term economic recovery post-Covid”.

He added: “[It] invests in local infrastructure and puts us firmly in the starting blocks to help rebuild Buckinghamshire, and importantly jobs for our residents, after this dreadful pandemic ends.”

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