Staffordshire Police officer numbers to reach 2,000 in wake of council tax rise
Council tax is set to rise across Staffordshire to fund an increase in the number of police officers in the county to 2,000.
Police Commissioner Ben Adams has proposed a 4.3 per cent hike in the precept for Staffordshire Police – a rise of £12 a year.
The increase will take the police precept on council tax bills in 2023-24 to £260.57 for a Band D property.
Mr Adams said the move will help fund an uplift in officer numbers of 60, taking the total force strength to 2,000 by March 2024.
It comes after Staffordshire County Council signed off on a 4.99 per cent council tax increase for 2023-24.
Mr Adams made increasing officer numbers one of his key pledges when he was elected commissioner. He has asked the county's crime panel to sign off on a net revenue budget requirement of £243m for 2023-24, including a council tax contribution of almost £94m.
He said: "We all face financial uncertainty due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and high inflation so setting this five-year budget has been testing but the financial position in Staffordshire is relatively strong and allows for investment thanks to both services exceeding their savings targets.
"I will always aim to keep council tax as low as possible and I am very aware of the pressures on household budgets so I am proposing increases for 2023/24 which are lower than the limits set by Government and below headline inflation rates.
"Even so, contributions at this level will mean more service improvements while securing the future of our police and fire & rescue services."
The budget includes this year's Home Office grant of £130m, a rise of around £500,000 on last year.
It also outlines plans for further investment over five years, including increasing the number of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras across Staffordshire, the creation of a new officer training facility, and investing in support services for domestic abuse victims.
The plans will be discussed at a meeting of the Staffordshire Police, Fire & Crime Panel on February 6. The fire and rescue precept proposal will be discussed at a separate meeting on February 13.
