HASLEMERE Town Council is raising its share of council tax for 2016/17 by almost 18 per cent, because its reserves are too low to run another budget deficit.

Councillors agreed with two votes against at the last full council meeting, to submit a precept of £264,273 for the next financial year to Waverley Borough Council, which will agree its own increase, along with Surrey County Council and the Police bil next month.

The £40,223 increase means a £5.30 increase in council tax for residents living in a band D property.

The town council proposes spending £284,306 in 2016 to 2017, which is less than the £287,861 it spent in 2015/16 incurring a budget deficit of £50,000.

But it will still proceed with a number of special projects, including £5,000 to fund a temporary youth worker following Surrey County Council cuts to Haslemere youth provision.

Introducing the draft budget for 2016/17, councillor Libby Piper said: “Haslemere Town Council has avoided increasing the precept for many years by being more prudent but costs have risen and cuts are being made down all three tiers of local government.

“We have listened to residents and supported local groups such as Haslemere Vision in building a neighbourhood plan but we can’t take on new projects without more funding.”

Several councillors felt spending £2,000 on surfacing for barbecues at Lion Green was unnecessary but members agreed it would stay in. Town mayor and council chairman Melanie Odell said a suitable youth worker had been found to lead two weekly sessions at the Wey Centre until the end of the current financial year at a cost of £5,000 to “plug the gap”, following Surrey’s reallocation of its paid provision away from Haslemere to meet a greater identified need in Farnham.

The meeting heard that county councillor Nikki Barton had also secured external funding to provide a paid member of staff to work one day per week to support young people to ensure the service continued at the Wey Centre.

Proposals for the town council to fund its own dustcart in Wey Hill to compensate for the county council’s decision last September to axe its Saturday morning general refuse collection in Wey Hill, have been abandoned as financially unviable.

But the council will spend £3,000 on town celebrations to mark The Queen’s 90th birthday.