Views are sought on funding of county's fire service

CHESHIRE Fire Authority has launched a consultation on its precept (its share of council tax) for the forth coming 2026/2027 financial year.

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As the publicly accountable body responsible for providing a fire and rescue service to the communities of Cheshire, the authority has two main sources of income.

The first is grants from govern ment, which make up around 33% of its budget, and the second is through local council tax precept, which accounts for the remaining 66%. The authority's total budget for 2025/2026 was £59.23m.

A legal duty to set a balanced budget means the authority must match its income with its outgo ings. These include paying staff wages, purchasing firefighting vehicles and equipment, improv ing and maintaining its buildings and paying for things like energy and fuel.