Durham Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Hogg, has increased Council Tax for Durham and Darlington Police by 1.99%, from 1st April 2014.
He said: “I am very conscious of the challenge that people face in terms of their household finances, but I have taken this decision due to the simple fact we are losing over £4m a year as a result of cuts in government funding. This increase will add 6p per week onto the average Band D property Council Tax bill and 4p per week for a Band A property, which equates to £159.58 per year and £106.38 per year respectively.
In total, it will raise £0.5m per year extra, most of which will go to replace the funding which we are losing over and above that which we expected. Despite this, we are committed to protecting neighbourhood policing within our communities.  These funding cuts will inevitably mean fewer officers and staff, but I am working closely with the Chief Constable to ensure it has minimum impact and that we can continue to keep crime levels in Durham and Darlington below the national average which benefits everybody, not least individuals through lower insurance costs.”