31 January 2017 PCC confirms 1.972% council precept increase Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore has announced that he will be asking council taxpayers to pay an average of just under 1p a day extra towards policing in the county in the next financial year. The PCC presented his precept proposal to the Police and Crime Panel meeting at Suffolk County Council’s HQ today for their consideration; the panel unanimously supported the proposal. Raising the precept by 1.972% will add approximately £830K to the Constabulary’s budget in the next financial year. Full detail here: This increase to the policing element of the precept means the average council tax payment will increase from £173.43 to £176.85 per year in 2017/18, an average of just under 7p a week (based on Band D property). Tim Passmore said, “I am reassured that the Police and Crime Panel accepted my recommendation to raise the policing element of the precept this year. I am conscious that finances are tight in many households but this increase of just under 1p a day is required to continue to keep Suffolk safe. He added, “Suffolk Constabulary does a great job; it’s a low-cost force and offers good value for money but savings still need to be made. Over the next four years we have to save £6.76m, the Chief Constable has identified £4.1m but that still leaves £2.6m to find, which is no easy feat. “The demand on the Constabulary is changing so the way they police the county needs to change too but I want to reassure everyone that Suffolk Constabulary will continue to respond in an emergency and your safer neighbourhood teams will continue to operate locally, supported by the neighbourhood response teams and enhanced investigation teams.”