Council tax paid to Allerdale council will rise from next month, despite a bid by independent councillors to freeze the borough authority’s share of the bill.

Allerdale council tonight voted by majority to increase its council tax precept by 1.9 per cent for the year from April as it sets its budget for the coming year.

The decision came despite a proposal by Councillor Bill Finlay, leader of the independent group, that the authority should keep the figure it charges taxpayers at the same rate as this year, instead plugging a shortfall in central government funding by using financial reserves.

All Conservative councillors abstained from the vote.

The move means each band D household in the borough will pay an extra £3.04 for Allerdale council services in 2017-18.

Band A households will pay an extra £2.03.

Households across the borough will see their overall council tax bills, which include levies charged by the county council, police and crime commissioner and town or parish council as well as Allerdale council, rise by 3.52 per cent.

Coun Barbara Cannon, Allerdale council executive member responsible for finance, told councillors the increase was needed to support the council’s services in the face of continued cuts in funding from the government.

She said: “We had said consistently that we will support out frontline services, which is what the public have said they want us to do.” She added that the council would continue to look to other ways of generating income to help plug the gap.

Coun Frank Johnston said: “I’d like to thank Coun Cannon and the members of the executive for delivering another budget that protects frontline services across the borough.”

But Coun Finlay raised concern that statistics suggested the poorest quarter of people in the country were set to see their income fall by 16 per cent in four years.

He said: “The council of late seems to have shifted position from prioritising on its social purpose towards having a more commercial focus, with the Allerdale Investment Partnership epitomising this re-balancing.

“The strategy through to 2020-21 is now clearly being driven by the need to avoid becoming a bankrupt council as central government support continues to wither towards nothing.

“We are being asked to support a tactic to tax to the maximum and then squirrel the additional income away into reserves.”

The council’s Conservative group abstained from both votes.

Group leader Coun Tony Markley told the meeting: “Some parts of the budget we understand and agree with. Some parts we have difficulty with and definitely wouldn’t administer.”

He added that the group had chosen not to council staff to put together an alternative budget that would probably be voted down, and had not had time to sufficiently consider Coun Finlay’s amendment.

“Therefore, the Conservative group abstain from this vote completely,” he said.

Coun Finlay’s amendment attracted eight votes in favour, all from independent councillors, with 26 against and 12 abstentions.

The vote on the main budget proposals, including the 1.9 per cent tax rise, saw 26 councillors vote in favour, with five against and 15 abstentions.

The council expects to spend £13 million providing routine, ongoing services in the next financial year.

Allerdale council’s precept, which accounts for just under a tenth of each council tax bill, will be added to those of the county council, police and crime commissioner and town or parish council to make up the full bill for each household.

With all four levies taken into account, the average band D bill in the borough from April will be £1,728.18 for the year, which is up 3.52 per cent on last year.

The highest council tax bills will be in Silloth, where a band D household will pay £1,863.01.

In Keswick a band D household will pay £1,770.98, in Wigton £1,764.18, in Cockermouth £1,726.18, in Aspatria £1,749.92, in Maryport £1,737.97, in Workington £1,732.30.

Band A households will pay two thirds of the band D figures and band H double band D, with all other bands charged on a scale.

Bills will be sent out in the coming weeks.

Allerdale council collects the tax on behalf of all the relevant authorities.

Meanwhile, the council expects to have collected more than £1.05 million more in the current council tax year than was anticipated.

That money will be shared between the county council, which is set to receive £775,000, Allerdale council, which will get about £139,000, and the police and crime commissioner, with £136,000.