County councillors have voted today to increase council tax bills by 1.99% this year.

The agreed hike means the authority will avoid the need to hold a referendum of residents to approve it, as it is under 2%.

The draft KCC budget means average council tax bills will rise for homes in Band D by £21.33 to £1,089 for KCC’s share of the bill.

Cllr John Simmonds, the Conservative cabinet member for finance, denied accusations KCC was a “democracy dodger” and said the costs of holding a referendum would be prohibitive.

Under the coalition’s continuing public spending squeeze, KCC is having to tighten is belt yet again, with a cut in government grants of £87.5 million in 2015-16. That is despite increasing demand for some services, notably in adult care.

Mr Simmonds said: “We have lost about 13% of grants from government along with the inevitable spending pressures, particularly with an increasing elderly population.”

“We have identified the problems [in adult care] earlier and have been doing quite a lot of work on it. But other pressures have popped up.”

On the claim that KCC was dodging a referendum by setting the tax rise at 1.99%, he said: “One of the things that came out during a consultation was that people felt it was a reasonable step to take provided the money went to protecting the vulnerable.

"The cost of a referendum is well over £1m or more - it is a no-brainer.”

Opposition Ukip leader Cllr Roger Latchford said his party would back the council tax rise and pointed the blame at the government.

“Nobody likes a tax increase but it is essential and we will support it so the books can be balanced and minimise the effect on services," he said.

"It is a fact of life that we are living in very difficult times. The government is placing more and more responsibilities on local government and giving it less and less money.”

KCC insists frontline services will remain broadly intact. The council is going through a large out-sourcing programme in which many services are being put out to tender to try and save tens of millions of pounds.