The local part of the council tax paid by Gillingham residents is to rise by £12 a year or £1 a month for Band D properties.

The move was approved by Gillingham Town Council at a special budget meeting on Monday evening, at which councillors agreed an overall budget for the town of £1,285,096 for the financial year 2026-2027.

This increase in the local precept comes on top of plans by Dorset Council later this month to raise council tax by around £100 a year for Band D properties.

At Monday’s meeting of the town council Councillor Paul Harris, who oversaw many of the negotiations over the local budget and precept, told fellow members that what mattered most to people was how much their monthly council tax bill went up in real terms.

‘We are looking at a total precept – the money we raise from residents – for the financial year 2026/27 of £1,198,611,’ he said. ‘That gives an increase in council tax for a Band D property in Gillingham of £1 a month. That’s exactly the same as last year.’

Councillor Harris said that in percentage terms the increase in the local precept this year was slightly below that of 2025, 4.69% against 4.92%.

‘This is because there are more houses paying the council tax, more people paying their share,’ he told councillors.