Kent County Council is raising council tax by 1.99 per cent, deliberately avoiding giving the public the chance to vote.
A tax hike of two per cent would have forced KCC to hold a referendum, in which Kent residents could vote for or against the rise.
The increase means those living in band D properties will pay £21.33 more or £1089.99 in 2015-2016, just for KCC’s portion of the council tax.
KCC described this as a "small increase" which was necessary to make £83.1m savings and balance the books.
Council leader Councillor Paul Carter said the council tax increase would raise an additional £10million.
He said: "We've preserved and protected front line services.
"The goal is to make less money go further and support our residents in a good, if not better, way."
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