Council taxpayers will discover today how much their bills are likely to rise this year when Kent County Council unveils its spending proposals for 2010-2011.

County Hall's Conservative administration will outline how it
intends to spend more than £2billion on key services and capital
projects in the coming year. It is also expected to say whether
staff will have to make do with a pay freeze.

Sources say the proposed increase in the KCC share of the
council tax is likely to be in the region of 1.5 per cent - one of
the lowest increases of recent years.

Last year, average bills for householders in Band D homes came
in at £1,026 for the county council share, rising by 2.4 per cent
although final bills will be considerably higher after the
inclusion of the tax charged by district councils, Kent Police and
Kent Fire.

KCC revealed last year that it was facing a £200million
shortfall and the possible loss of several hundred jobs over the
next three years as it confronted the impact of the recession and
an expected squeeze on public sector spending.

It also said it needed to bridge a £10million funding gap
this year despite having found an estimated £48million in
savings.

The council is expected to say that the £10million shortfall has
been covered without any cuts to key frontline
services. However, the continuing cold spell could leave the
authority with an unexpected financial headache.

The authority is likely to have to dip into reserves if, as
expected, it spends more money on gritting than first
anticipated.