Lincolnshire County Council’s leading councillors have put forward their final budget proposals for 2026/27 promising that the small increase in council tax is ‘only what is absolutely necessary'.
Equating to 90p per week on the average band D property, the 2.9% council tax increase will predominantly pay for the increase in costs and demand for social care for older people in the county.
Council Leader, Cllr Sean Matthews explained, “This is our first budget as a new administration and we’re faced with costs that have gone up by more than £80million and hundreds of millions of pounds of historic debt. The government has provided some additional funding this year to reflect that the county has been under-funded in the past, but it won’t be anywhere near enough to cover this. We are meeting that challenge by rooting out wasteful spending, doing things differently and funding future projects without having to borrow money.”
In addition to an extra £36m from the government, the budget proposals include £15m of efficiency savings, £1m of savings from senior management, and using a small proportion of the council’s reserves.
Cllr Matthews continued, “None of the executive want to put council tax up at all, but we can assure residents that the small increase they will pay is only what is absolutely necessary to balance the books and deal with these increased costs. In return, we will continue to find efficiencies and ensure every pound of your money is spent wisely.
“We have been left a legacy of projects which need to be finished, such as major road projects, so we have little choice but to make sure they are funded to completion. But just like residents save up for bigger purchases, the council should be the same! We will not be racking up more debt for future projects.
“We’re also determined not to put a sticking plaster over big issues, but to deal with them properly so that they don’t become more costly in future. That’s why we are investing in a planned maintenance programme for Lincoln Castle for the first time in decades, money to improve roads and drainage and new IT solutions to reduce costs going forward.
“We’ve listened to residents through our consultation and they want to see us balance the budget, but they’re also genuinely struggling with the cost of living now. Our final proposal addresses both of these. Residents wanted to see change in the council, and with the lowest council tax increase for 5 years- at less than the rate of inflation - we’re doing our very best to do that.”
The executive will now put their final budget proposals to full council to be agreed on 20 February 2026.