Croydon residents will once again have a say on how much council tax they want to pay, as the options for the borough's second referendum were unveiled this week.

Croydon Council revealed on Tuesday (December 18) the three preferences available to voters in next year's council tax ballot.

Council officials say the lowest option of a 3.65 per cent increase - an average of £2.50 extra a month for the standard band D household - is the minimum increase possible to enable it to maintain its current services without a loss in quality.

The medium rise of 5.15 per cent - an average of £3.50 extra per month - and the highest option of 6.65 per cent - an extra £4.60 a month - will see more cash spent on extra services such as environmental amenities, public safety and leisure facilities.

A council spokesman said: "Once again, this is the ultimate form of public consultation. The bottom line is, the more residents pay, the better their services will be."

The closing date for next year's referendum, which will again accept votes by post, phone and the Internet, will be 5pm on February 14, 2002.

The spokesman added: "The current sum a year per average band D household is around £824 and £150 of this is made up of the GLA precept.

"Ken Livingstone is proposing to increase this precept by 34 per cent for next year, but irrespective of the outcome it will not affect the rate of increase outlined in the options."

December 19, 2001 09:30