By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Mumby
Frome taxpayers will on average pay an extra £5 per year from April to ensure the county’s fire service can continue to protect the public.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service set its annual budget on 16th February, including the maximum possible increase in its share of council tax bills.
The £5 increase (the equivalent of 4.8 per cent) means that the average (Band D) property in either county will see the fire and rescue element of their council tax bills hit £109.68 for the next 12 months, a bill which also includes contributions for their local councils and police service.
The fire authority said that such a rise was essential to both meet existing demand and to persuade central government to provide additional, more proportionate funding in the future.
The fire service’s budget for the 2026/27 financial year will be just north of £109m – which has to cover all its firefighters’ salaries and the running costs all 83 of its fire stations, crewed by a total of 121 fire engines.
Of this, £74.7m comes from local council tax rather than central government grants.
More than 440 local residents and 400 businesses took part in the fire authority’s official budget consultation, which ran from October to early-December 2025, with 53 per cent of respondents feeling it was reasonable for the authority to increase council tax bills compared to 13 per cent who felt it was unreasonable.
Out of those who supported an increase, just over 40 per cent of respondents favoured an increase of £5 on the average bill.
Furthermore, a total of 77 per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the fire service was currently providing value for money.
Councillor Mike Best (Liberal Democrat, Crewkerne) welcomed the budget proposals when the fire authority met at Clyst St. George near Exeter on 16th February.
He said: “We’ve pushed for the £5 increase on numerous occasions, so now that we’ve been given the opportunity of using it, it would be a complete non-brainer [sic] not to take this opportunity.
“We’re looking for further funding from the government, and if we don’t utilise the increase that we can, it will by immediately be seized upon by the government that we’re not taking every route that is available to us.”
The fire authority voted unanimously to approve its annual budget after less than half an hour’s debate.
