The average council tax bill in the borough is to increase by the equivalent of a penny a day.

Councillors voted for a below-inflation increase of 2.48 per cent to the Swale council part of the bill at Wednesday’s full council meeting.

There will be an overall rise of 2.26 per cent – excluding parish council precepts – which equates to about a penny a day for residents whose properties fall within band D. Last year’s overall increase was 3.01 per cent.

The reason the overall percentage increase is less than the Swale increase is because the borough’s portion is only a fraction of people’s full bills.

Swale collects the cash on behalf of other authorities, with Kent County Council getting 73 per cent, Swale council 11 per cent, the Kent Police Authority 10 per cent, Kent Fire and Rescue Service five per cent and the parish precepts are one per cent.

Consultation with residents formed the basis of councillors’ decision to keep the increase broadly in line with inflation.

The council says that although it has planned to make savings of £1.6 million in the next financial year, it also has to prepare for an anticipated funding reduction from central government and be mindful of the frailty of recovery from the economic recession.

The ruling Tory group believes that taking action now puts the council in a position from which it can still provide excellent services and value for money.

Cllr Mike Cosgrove said at the meeting: “How safe a driver are you in fog and ice? How risky is betting on a recovery?

"We feel we need to mitigate against risk and we need to become more confident in managing these future risks and uncertainties to provide increasing value to residents.”

Council leader Andrew Bowles added: “We will always seek a lower council tax level if possible, and while I would like to have seen a lower increase, this was the lowest figure we could make work.

“It has consistently been our judgement that we have to tackle the financial issues facing local authorities now.

"We feel it would be irresponsible for us as an authority to wait and see what the economy does.

"We will continue to put customers first and improve our services while still providing value for money for the taxpayer as we continue our journey to becoming a high-performing organisation.”