A 3.8 per cent rise in the police precept is being proposed by West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.
Mark Burns-Williamson says the increase will pay for the recruitent for 44 police officers.
The rise equates to a penny a day for the 64 per cent of households in West Yorkshire that fall into council tax bands A and B.
For those households in band D, it will mean £5 a year.
For the last two years, police council tax has been frozen in West Yorkshire.
Because of this, the Government has allowed the Police and Crime Commissioner greater discretion and only requires a referendum if the precept rise is greater than £5 or 3.8 per cent.
Mr Burns-Williamson said: “A penny a day increase in the precept means the recruitment of 44 police officers that would otherwise be impossible.
“Government cuts have hit us hard with a loss of over £100 million to policing. I pledged to protect neighbourhood policing and I have today proposed a 3.8 per cent rise to pay for these much needed police officers in our communities.
“It is really encouraging that people have said they are prepared to pay a little more towards keeping their communities safe and hopefully this rise does not impose too heavy a burden on families in these uncertain economic times.”
The precept proposal will now be submitted to the Police and Crime Panel.
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