THE leader of Poole People has explained why his party proposed a council tax increase at Borough of Poole’s budget meeting.

Cllr Mark Howell’s amendment proposed that council tax be increased by 1.99 per cent, the maximum permissible without a referendum.

He also proposed that in anticipation of a referendum in 2016 officers should develop proposals to bridge the funding gap. This amendment was defeated on the night and a zero tax increase approved.

Cllr Howell said it was becoming increasingly more difficult to find budget savings, with a funding gap of £8.8million needing to be bridged over the next two years.

“This cannot be done without cutting services in a way that will detrimentally affect a large number of borough residents,” he said.

Developing proposals within the coming year would help quantify the amount by which council tax should be raised he said, and residents could understand the consequences of a no vote in terms of cuts to services.