Council tax to rise in Shropshire and Telford as West Mercia Police gets 115 new officers
An additional 115 new police officers will be hired for the West Mercia region after new budget plans were confirmed.
There will be an extra £13 million for policing across West Mercia as part of police and crime commissioner John Campion’s budget.
Under the new plans, council tax in both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin is set to rise, with residents who live in Band D homes seeing their monthly police precept rise by £1.63 to £19.59.
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As well as paying for new officers, the increase would help tackle rural crime and pay for CCTV, road safety and crime prevention initiatives.
Mr Campion, who was elected in 2016, said: “I promised I would ensure our police force has the resources needed to keep our communities safe.
"My budget provides the resources needed to deliver key service improvements around officer visibility and accessibility, emergency response times and victim satisfaction.
“I will continue to both hold the force to account, and support them, to ensure those improvements are delivered.
“I also promised I would listen and respond to community voices. Our communities have consistently said they want more police, more visible, and more effective measures to tackle crime. That is what my budget delivers.
“I will work tirelessly to ensure these extra resources deliver the best value and return on investment for our communities, and help build a safer West Mercia.”
The police precept is charged along with the council tax bill, and homes are charged different rates according to which value band they belong in.
The proposed rates for 2019-2020 and the increase on the current year are:
Band A, £144.44, an increase of £13.01 a year or £1.08 a month
Band B, £168.51, up £15.24 a year or £1.27 a month
Band C, £192.59, up £17.41 a year or £1.45 a month
Band D, £216.66, up £19.59 a year or £1.63 a month
Band E, £264.81, up £23.94 a year or £2.00 a month
Band F, £312.95, up £28.29 a year or £2.36 a month
Band G, £316.10, up £32.65 a year or £2.72 a month
Band H, £433.32, up £39.18 a year or £3.26 a month
