HOUSEHOLDS in Salisbury will face an average tax rise of £18 in April to pay for city council services.

But they have been warned that keeping the increase that low will likely mean a rise again next year.

Rival political party groups on the city council could not agree on three possible versions of a budget that were presented at an extraordinary meeting at the Guildhall on Monday.

The version that was squeezed through after an adjournment for a series of entrances and exits by party leaders to negotiate in private will mean an increase in borrowing to fund, among other things, improvements to bins, seats and signs in the city to make it more attractive to tourists.

There were also warnings that there could be a waste collection levy on market traders to help meet the £60,000 annual cost of clearing up after them.

Last week the city’s independent leader Andrew Roberts had put forward a “safety first” budget which would have meant an average increase of £94 but would have ensured that the city had enough cash to survive any future “capping” of bills by the government for the next four years.

However, Tories said they had promised at the last election not to increase bills in the lifetime of this council, with elections this May, and they put forward their own measures which relied entirely on increased borrowing with a zero per cent tax rise.

Labour offered a £16 rise, while Cllr Roberts put forward a revised £50 increase.

Cllr Roberts said the asset transfer would increase the council’s costs by more than £1m in the first year, and those who had accepted the deal should face the electoral consequences.

Labour group leader Mike Osment said: “The asset transfer has had a much greater impact than we were originally led to believe. We’re facing a financial black hole in a few years’ time.”

The city’s budget only makes up part of people’s council tax bill. The major part is Wiltshire Council’s precept for the services which it provides.

It is trying to cut its costs by giving assets to the city without handing over enough money to run them, including street cleaning, CCTV and the Market Place.

The Conservatives voted against the final proposal.

Tory group leader Matthew Dean described it as “the worst of all possible worlds” and branded Lib Dem councillors Brian Dalton and Grahame Alexander “gutless” for abstaining.