HAMPSHIRE Fire and Rescue Authority has frozen its council tax portion for a third successive year.
Despite further Government grant cuts, the authority was able to keep tax the same after making £2m savings last year.
For a Band D property the cost remains £61.38, or £1.18 per week, one of the lowest fire service rates in England.
But despite the freeze, the amount the authority receives will fall by 4.3 per cent to £67.5m due to Government changes to the council tax benefit system.
Authority chairman Royston Smith said: “With the continuing pressure on household budgets I am delighted that the authority has been able to set a budget that means no increase in our portion of the council tax for the third year running.
"Thanks to careful financial planning, we successfully made savings of £2 million last year, with a further savings of £4 million of saving planned over the next two years.
"We will continue to review how our services are delivered to make Hampshire safer."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here