Residents face a triple-whammy of tax rises for the next financial year after Hertsmere Borough Council approved its new budget.

To help fund services for the upcoming year, an average increase of £5 per household for the council's share of tax bills was agreed by the council's Conservative administration.

It means a household in a Band D property in Hertsmere will pay an average of £187 in tax to the borough council.

Councillor John Graham, responsible for finance, said: "This was a particularly challenging task this year given the extra demands on our services and the complex funding positions to support Covid recovery.

"I am confident that this carefully considered budget will help to steer Hertsmere through the Covid recovery period and maintain our finances on a firm footing."

But residents also face a hike in the amount of tax they will pay to Hertfordshire County Council and to the Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner.

A Band D taxpayer will pay an extra £56 this year in tax to the county council, so £1,470.20p, after a 1.99 per cent increase in the general tax precept and a two per cent increase in the adult social care precept.

The council says adult social care precept funding will be used to help provide support for the vulnerable and for Covid-19 recovery.

Councillor Ralph Sangster says the first priority of the budget has been to increase resources for frontline delivery services such as domestic abuse, children in care and the voluntary sector.

There will be an £11.5 million fund for pandemic related and systemic inequalities in service provision, along with £10 million investment in sustainable projects.

The rises in Hertsmere and for the county council are the same as last year.

Meanwhile, David Lloyd, the police and crime commissioner for the county, has increased the policing precept for a Band D property by £15 for the upcoming year.

He says that will raise £5.2 million, helping to create Hertfordshire's biggest ever police force.

The precept increase will pay for 77 extra officers, on top of the 90 who will be recruited as part of the government uplift. These 167 new officers increase the ranks to 2,267 in the forthcoming financial year.

As a billing authority, Hertsmere Borough Council collects the council tax every year, but the money residents pay does not all go to the borough council.

On average, Hertsmere gets 10 per cent, or 10p in every £1 residents pay, Hertfordshire County Council gets 77 per cent, Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner gets 11 per cent and, if residents live in an area with a parish or town council, those councils receive two per cent.