THE average council tax payer in Wyre Forest is set to stump up an extra £56 in the coming year after figures from local authorities were finalised this week.

Police and fire authorities and councils have balanced the books and kept increases as low as possible to avoid Government capping in their budget preparations for 2006/2007.

Householders across the district face an overall 4.6 per cent increase in their council tax bill compared with a four per cent rise last year.

The figures mean a Band D taxpayer will pay, without the addition of a parish precept, £1,290.59 a year - an increase of £56.68.

All of the authorities, which issue a levy, have kept their cash demands below five per cent at which point they could face the threat of Government capping.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service came in with a 4.9 per cent increase, while the Police Authority raised its element of the council tax by 4.94 per cent.

Wyre Forest District Council met last night and was due to finalise its take of the council tax with a provisional increase of 2.5 per cent put forward by the Conservative administration. This will give the authority £179.03, an extra £4.37 extra a year.

Worcestershire County Council, which was struggling to balance its books earlier this year, has increased its take of the bill by 4.94 per cent.

Elsewhere, Wychavon District Council approved a rise of 2.5 per cent for its share of the council tax bill. For the average council tax payer in Hartlebury, this will mean an overall payment of £1,226.95 a year, an increase of £55.07.

Residents in Cleobury Mortimer, under South Shropshire District Council, are expecting to see no change to the district and parish parts of their council tax bills and will continue to pay £224.35 a year.

This means an average Band D resident will pay a total of £1,379.07 a year. The figures are expected to be rubber-stamped at a full council meeting tonight.

County plugs gap to keep rise to 4.9pc

WORCESTERSHIRE County Council will take an extra £42 from the average council tax payer in the coming year.

Members voted for an increase of 4.94 per cent for 2006-07 at a meeting last Thursday.

This means the owner of a Band D property will see the county council element of their bill go up to £899 from £857 on April 1.

The authority had been looking at an £8.7 million gap in its finances for 2006/07 following a grant of £69.7 million for its day-to-day services.

A total of £5.2 million was plugged by the authority's reserves and the rest was bridged by identifying a further £3.5 million efficiency savings rather than cuts.

Councillor George Lord, leader of the council, said: "Our settlement from Government of a two per cent increase was not good, especially when you consider that things like gas and electricity are going up by so much.

He added: "We have bridged the gap with more and more efficiency savings, but I cannot make any guarantees that we won't need to make cuts in 2007-08."

Police chiefs have raised their take for West Mercia Constabulary by 4.94 per cent.

This represents an increase of £7.07, or 14p a week, to the average Band D payer, taking the figure from £143.17 to £150.24 a year.

Paul Deneen, chairman of West Mercia Police Authority, said: "Although, once again we received the minimum level of grant from the Government we have been able to limit the impact on the council tax payer by accessing grants, realigning existing budgets and developing a fresh strategy of financing capital."

The fire service element of Wyre Forest council tax bills will rise by 4.9 per cent.

Members of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority, who have set their budget for 2006/07 at just over £27 million, approved the rise last Wednesday.

For the average Band D property owner, this means a rise of 6p a week, to £1.20, taking the figure to £61.95 per year.