Councillors who sit on the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel have vetoed an increase of over 10 per cent in council tax for policing put forward by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan.
The panel said it needed more detail to arrive at a balanced decision.
Members said they felt there was a lack of assurance about where the extra money would be spent, particularly in relation to aspects of local policing.
They also expressed concern that levels of neighbourhood policing had declined in recent times with a corresponding decline in public confidence.
In a statement issued yesterday, members said they were especially disappointed that the commissioner and police officers gave a presentation to the panel with new information so that there was little time to take on board the issues and hold the commissioner to account.
The panel stated it would also welcome more detail about how savings can be made
Councillor Carl Les, chair of the panel, said: “Rejecting the Commissioner’s proposal was not a decision taken lightly by the panel and we understand the public’s need to have a more visible policing presence in York and North Yorkshire.
“But an increase of more than 10 per cent is simply too much to ask people to pay without further information about how aspects of local policing will be improved.”
Detective Chief Constable Phil Cain and Julia Mulligan have both reacted to the decision on twitter.
Today I attended the police and crime panel to present our case for investing precept rise funding.
Disappointed with myself that we didn't get the support of the panel because my team worked so hard to put together a proposal which we all believe in. Sorry team. #TryHarderPhil— DCC Phil Cain (@DCCPhilCain) February 5, 2019
Today I put forward proposals for a new City Task Force, plans to reinstate Officer numbers to 2010 levels, and the highest number of PCSOs ever. It is a great shame this was vetoed – we need more officers in our local communities. @NickHurdUK
— Julia Mulligan (@Julia_Mulligan) February 5, 2019
The panel also expressed concerns about the conclusions drawn from the commissioner’s public consultation.
The panel accepts the principle that the precept money would be held in a policing priorities fund and only released by the commissioner on the production of a successful business case.
The panel has a reserve date for the panel to consider a revised precept proposal on February 21.
The panel gave its approval to an increase for 2019/20 for the fire and rescue service of £2.07 (2.99%) for a Band D property.
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