Proposals for a new freeze on council tax and car park charges in West Norfolk will be put to borough councillors later this month.
If the move is approved, as expected, the borough council’s component of the total council tax bill levied by Norfolk County Council in 2013-14 will stay at £111.97 for a typical Band D property.
Council leader Nick Daubney said: “Our record on keeping council tax down is exemplary.
“For an average Band D household, West Norfolk council tax has increased by only three per cent in the last eight years.”
A meeting of the full council on Thursday, February 21, will also be asked to hold car park charges at the current level, including retaining the £2.10 three-hours-for-the-price-of-two initiative.
The suspension of the evening parking charge in Hunstanton will also continue if the proposals approved by the authority’s cabinet at a meeting last Tuesday are backed.
And approval will be sought for a £100,000 project to fund a series of car park promotions throughout the year.
Mr Daubney said the budget to be presented to the full council will show that the books have been balanced for the financial years of 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
He claimed that was due to early action by the council to identify savings and efficiencies.
The situation could lead to the council tax freeze continuing, though Mr Daubney said final decisions would continue to be made annually as circumstances could change.
Work was under way to try to prevent a projected shortfall in 2016-17, he continued.
Mr Daubney confirmed that, despite the challenging economic climate, the authority’s focus remained on encouraging and supporting business growth and ensuring that there was a supply of suitable homes for people to live in.
Work had started on a joint initiative on the Nar Ouse Regeneration Area (NORA) to develop 155 homes with Norfolk County Council.
Council tax charges for second homes had been increased and landlords were being encouraged to bring empty homes properties back into use.
But, as previously reported, opposition councillors have accused the Conservative administration of seeking to avoid tough decisions by accepting a one-off central government grant and delaying the introduction of their own council tax benefit regime for a year until April 2014, although Conservatives have rejected the claims.
Mr Daubney said: “West Norfolk Council continues to play its part in holding down costs to the council tax payer.
However, he warned that the council could not afford to be complacent and standing still was not an option.
“We need to drive forward with initiatives and programmes which will put West Norfolk in a good position in the future.
“We think that the measures included in our budget for the next three years will help us do that,” said Mr Daubney.
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