COUNCIL tax payers in Salford will have to dig deeper into their pockets after a decision to hike tax by over three per cent.

At a meeting of full council on Wednesday, February 20, councillors approved an increase of 3.39 per cent on council tax in Salford.

A household who live in a Band D property in the city will now pay £1,462 every year.

The rise is made up of a three per cent hike for council services, which in tandem with the payments for police and fire, makes a 3.39 per cent increase.

Councillors blamed the hike on a poor settlement from central Government, which they say was the main reason behind the decision to charge more.

Councillor Bill Hinds, lead member for customer and support services, defended the decision.

He said: "I can honestly say that once again I feel that the people of Salford will see one of the smallest council tax increases in the country.

"We don’t know why we have not received more money and are very disappointed.

"However, we once again believe that over the past 10 years, Salford has seen the 14th lowest average council tax rise nationally.

"We appreciate that nobody likes seeing an increase in their bills and that’s why each year we endeavour to keep any council tax rise to a minimum without making cuts to services or compromising on the quality of what we offer."

The move comes a week after the council admitted spending £158,000 on a report by chartered accountants KPMG which told them how to save money.

But the Conservatives blasted the council for using reserve funding to pay for local services and submitted their own alternative budget.

Councillor Ian MacDonald, the Conservative’s spokesperson on finance, said: "I must agree with the council - it is a disappointing settlement from the Government.

"However, you cannot plunder the council’s reserves - that is public money and it should not be used in this way."

And Councillor Karen Garrido, leader of the Conservative opposition, said: "The Conservatives would do more, do it better and do it for less."

The Liberal Democrats also presented an alternative budget with a similar increase but would redistribute funds to other sources, including highways and health and social care.

Lib Dem leader Norman Owen said: "We prepared a professional report with the help of Councillor Joe O’Neill and we are very pleased with how it went down. We believe that our points were well-received and taken on board."