EARLY estimates show that Petersfield people will be digging deeper into their pockets to the tune of £58 when their council tax bills fall on the doormat next March. It will mean an average Band D Petersfield household looking at bills of around £1,336, an overall rise of more than four-and-a-half per cent. At an East Hampshire District Council Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Tory councillors were due to agree a complete freeze on their slice of the tax bill. If the draft proposal is set in stone by councillors at their budget meeting next February, this will mean that EHDC's slice of the average tax cake will remain at £127.67 next year. But district councillors are anxious to stress that does not mean tax payers will not face an overall rise in their bills. Petersfield householders' council tax bills are made up of "precepts" from five separate authorities – Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council, Petersfield Town Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue, and the Hampshire Police Authority. By far the biggest slice of the tax cake is taken every year by Hampshire County Council. This year, average Band D tax payers are forking out £910.62 for the county council's share, from a total bill of £1,278.26. Early indications suggest that county councillors will opt for a 4.9 per cent increase in their precept which will take their portion of the bill to £955.24. Petersfield town councillors have so far whittled down their budget projection to a rise of between six and seven per cent. If this figure is agreed early next year, it will mean a rise of around £4.35 to nearly £71.50 in the tax due to the town council. "Obviously, we would like this figure to remain as low as possible," said Vaughan Clarke, chairman of the town council's finance committee. "The people in the area would like it to be low as well, but we have to look at it from the point of view that the halls we own are important if we are going to hire them out then they have to be in a good state. It takes money to do that and it has been delayed for a year or two now. "We subsidise play equipment and sports grounds, so it is only right that we provide a good service to our hall users. Petersfield Town Council is unique in that it has its own theatre facility. The Festival Hall itself is valued at £3m, so there is no point in letting it fall down." Police and fire authorities are still playing their cards close to their chests, but the government has capped any rise to 4.9 per cent. If both these authorities take the maximum they are allowed, it will mean a police tax rise of £5.85 (4.9 per cent) taking their share of the bill from £119.43 to £125.28. The smallest portion of the bill is taken by the fire authority. Currently, average Band D tax payers fork out £53.46. If fire authority members go for a 4.9 per increase, their tax slice will grow to £56.08, a rise of £2.62. All five authorities are still working on their budgets. The final tax bill will not be known until early next year.