Council tax in York is set to go up again.
City of York Council is proposing that its part of the precept would rise by 4.99% – the maximum allowed without triggering a referendum.
That’s a lot higher than the annual inflation rate, which stood at 3.2% in the 12 months to November.
The Labour-run council is blaming the increase on “rising inflation, decades of underfunding, and growing demand for services”.
It also says York is projected to be the lowest funded unitary authority per head of population in England by the end of the three-year spending review period in 2028-29.
Councillor Claire Douglas, Leader of City of York Council, said: “Our budget must go beyond simply balancing the books – it must ensure the council is supporting those in most need, operating more efficiently and planning for the future needs of all our citizens and businesses.
“It must also explore all opportunities to raise income, in line with what residents told us in our previous budget consultation.
“The council will continue to deliver its Council Plan priorities, including on housing, the economy, improving transport and tackling cost of living challenges, while ensuring we focus on important, everyday services.
“This budget, while incredibly difficult, achieves the right balance for our city.”
But the opposition Liberal Democrat councillors have accused Labour of yet another broken promise. It is the third Labour budget in a row to push council tax bills up for residents.
In its campaign literature before the last council election, Cllr Douglas was quoted as saying: “York needs a Labour-run council to freeze your council tax.”
Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Cllr Paul Healey said: “Labour can try to dress this up however they like, but residents remember what they were told. At the last election, Labour said a Labour-run council would freeze Council Tax.
“Instead, people are getting higher bills year after year. That is a clear breach of their manifesto.”
Investment and cuts
The council’s proposed budget includes almost £400k in one-off investment items for 2026-27.
The Neighbourhood Caretakers Team budget will increase to provide additional capacity, the city’s weed control contract is to be brought in-house to improve performance, while £50k is to be provided to support community activities and events across York.
The city is also set to see a boost in cycle parking with around another 250 cycle parking hoops planned.
But the Liberal Democrats say Labour are pushing forward with cuts to frontline services, including the widely opposed £600,000 cut to library services and a new £100,000 cut to leisure facilities.
Councillor Katie Lomas, executive member for finance, said: “This budget is extremely challenging, and the national funding settlement means future years will be even tougher. With limited resources, we have focussed spend to those in most need, such as adults with care needs.
“With strong financial management and a firm control on our costs, we have the best chance of balancing the council’s budget in 2026-27, while continuing to deliver those important day to day services our residents expect and really value.”
Lib Dem Cllr Healey said: “York residents were promised one thing and given another. This budget shows that Labour will say whatever it takes to win votes, then do the opposite once the ballots are counted.
“Libraries are a frontline service used every day by children, older residents, jobseekers, students and community groups. Pretending otherwise does not make the cut disappear.
“This is a direct attack on York’s frontline services. Our libraries and leisure facilities services are being cut. Residents are not fools; they can see that under Labour they are paying more and getting fewer public services.”
