Council tax is set to increase by 4.99 per cent Assistant director of finance Peter Robinson, speaking at RBC’s Policy committee, where the plans were endorsed ahead of next week’s vote, said the reserves had to be used “out of necessity” as the council did not want to “put forward unnecessary savings and there were a lot of savings already”. He added: “I am pleased the council has put money aside like this for years like this. This can only be on a one-off basis.” RBC has been unable to balance its three-year medium term financial strategy budget fully, with a further £3.6 million of savings needed in the next two years.