MID Devon District Council, meeting in Tiverton on February 26, decided to freeze its share of council tax for the forthcoming financial year (2014/15) and not to make any cuts to frontline services.

During the next financial year, the average Band D household will pay Mid Devon District Council £182.15, the same as this year.

Commenting on the freeze, cabinet member for finance, Councillor Neal Davey, said: "This is great news for the people of Mid Devon. I am proud that we have for the fourth year running frozen council tax while maintaining our key frontline services at existing levels."

Mid Devon District Council's formula grant from central government has been reduced by more than £2m over the past four years, with a further reduction of £656,000 scheduled in 2015/16.

Cllr Davey added: "The council's financial strength has been greatly improved over recent years.

"We have been making significant efficiency savings – through steady reductions from natural turnover, more flexible working and generating greater income across a number of service areas. We are therefore in a much better position than many other councils to deal with the current financial constraints.

"Our strategy for the future is to continue achieving more efficiency savings, but we know that providing a balanced budget without making some reductions to frontline services in 2015/16 will be an extremely difficult challenge."

The amount Mid Devon residents will be charged will go up, however, since the Mid Devon charge represents only a small proportion of the total council tax bill. Devon County Council, Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue authorities will all be making small increases in their charges (1.99 per cent), as are some parish councils.

Therefore, the total council tax bill for an average Band D household will go up by £28.43 from £1,576.82 in 2013/14 to £1,605.25 in 2014/15 (although households will see slight variations depending on their local town/parish charges).

The total amount payable by Mid Devon residents comprises contributions to Devon County Council (70.9 per cent), Mid Devon District Council (11.3 per cent), Devon and Cornwall Police Authority (10.4 per cent), Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority (4.8 per cent) and local parishes (2.6 per cent).

The proportion of MDDC's General Fund revenue account income accounted for by council tax in 2014/15 will be 54.4 per cent while the proportion accounted for by central government grant will be 45.6 per cent.

By comparison, back in 2010/11 these proportions were 46 per cent from council tax and 54 per cent from central government grant. This highlights the significant reduction in government funding over the past four years.

North Devon District Council has also decided not to put up its share of the council tax, despite having to save more than £1 million.

The council's budget has shrunk from £15.5m in 2010 to just £11.7m next year. A further £1m in savings is needed for the year after following further government cuts and work has already started to find those savings.