Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge residents will pay £67 extra per year in council tax from April, after Somerset county council agreed its budget on Wednesday.
The Conservative-led authority voted through a 5.99% increase in its share of the council tax bill, with half of the increase going on adult social care.
The Council Tax and Adult Social Care precept will mean an annual increase of £67.37 for the average Band D property.
The budget was agreed by 33 votes to 20, with opposition from the Liberal Democrats and other parties.
The budget includes nearly £9m of savings, including £3m by ‘enabling the elderly to do more for themselves’ and £2.5m from children’s services.
The decision comes on top of Sedgemoor District Council’s decision to raise its portion of the council tax by 3.32% and Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Town Council’s increase of 4.95%.
Leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr David Fothergill, said: “I’m pleased to be able to present a budget that is not only balanced, but demonstrates our ambition and commitment to meet the needs of our residents, especially our children and young people.”
“Like local authorities, our finances are under pressure – our funding from central Government is falling by £10m this year alone. But we are still able to fund our priorities – which are in line with those of our residents – investing in the right things at the right time.”
Cabinet also approved the proposed Revenue Budget, which sets out the Council’s day to day running costs and features saving proposals to close its estimated £13m budget gap. These include a reduction of 100 County Council posts.
Councillor David Hall, Cabinet Member for Resources and Economic Development, said: “It is never easy to make savings but this is a budget that allows us to carry on providing quality services and protect our care budgets as much as possible.”
