Council tax payers in the Western Wards are likely to see their payment to Fareham Borough Council frozen for the fifth consecutive year.
Councillors are expected to confirm the freeze in the council tax for the borough when they meet tonight (Friday, February 22).
But the leader of the council, Councillor Sean Woodward insisted that holding the rates despite inflationary pressures would not mean a cut in frontline services.
He said the council would be investing in property and merging some services with other councils to subsidise the tax.
Councillors will tonight be asked to vote on the recommendation which would mean council tax for a band D property would remain at £140.22 for the borough precept.
Cllr Woodward said: “In the past five years our government grant has reduced from £6m to £3.5m.
“We’ve lost a quarter of our staff in the past five years. We have 420 members of staff at the moment and five years ago we had more than 500.
“We also had a policy of amalgamating services. Our legal services has joined with Southampton City Council. We’ve joined with Gosport for building control, CCTV and environmental health.
“But that does not mean amalgamating frontline services. It is those services that people do not see. We would never let anybody else manage our refuse collection for example.”
Fareham Borough Council is hoping to create funds with a property investment scheme – and will be considering investment opportunities outside the borough – in order to subsidise the council tax, said Cllr Woodward.
“We’re always looking for opportunities,” he said. “It’s not just about saving money – it is about making money. We already have a significant portfolio of property and that of course gets rented out.
“We’re allocating £3m from April to buy property and not just in Fareham.”
He said the council owns the land for Fareham Shopping Centre and gains 15 percent of all the business rent, and added: “That’s why it is so much in our interest to have a good shopping centre, not just because we want good shops for our residents, but because it helps subsidise the council tax.”
He added: “The best place to invest is property. If the opportunity comes along it does not matter where. Anything we can do to wisely use our resources and make money for the benefit of the residents we will do it.”
The meeting to set the council tax will begin at 5pm.