Councillors in Gillingham have voted to put up the town’s precept – its share of the council tax bill – by 4.92 percent.

That means local council tax payers living in a band D property will pay an extra £12 a year for the town’s services.

The decision came at a meeting of the full council on Monday night when councillors backed a series of cuts and amendments to the draft budget which brought the overall budget for the council for 2025-2026 to £1,172,116.

Councillors were told that the draft budget had been trimmed despite increased costs faced by the council, including the recent mandatory increases in employer National Insurance, rising costs for water and energy, and the need to tackle Ash dieback in local trees.

Announcing the changes to the draft budget Councillor Paul Harris said: ‘I’m sure the public will be more than pleased that we’ve reduced the cost.’

However, there was dismay among some councillors about the fact that no members of the public had come to examine the draft budget at a consultation meeting earlier this month.

Former mayor Councillor Barry von Clemens said: ‘Just so councillors are aware of just how much or how little interest there was in the consultation … How many members of the public bothered to come and look at the budget?’

The town mayor, Councillor Roger Weeks, responded: ‘It’s not a hard answer… It’s a very round figure.’

Councillor von Clemens said that though they as councillors would get ‘shouted at’ over the increase in the precept, local people had ‘just not engaged in this process’ before the budget was set.

‘Which I find very disappointing on behalf of the public,’ he said.

The main part of residents’ council tax is set by Dorset Council who provide the bulk of local services. This body will decide on 11 February what the new council tax will be, but it is likely to go up by just under 5 percent, with residents in a band D property paying around £87 extra a year.