Conservative Cllr Richard Roberts has called for an immediate review of how council tax is collected across Hertfordshire.

Council tax bills include levies for a range of services provided by the county council, the district or borough council, the police and crime commissioner and, where relevant, the local parish council.

But not every household is liable to pay the charge, with exemptions for some unoccupied properties and for some properties occupied by particular groups, which can include students, those with severe mental impairments or under-18s.

According to data published as part of Hertfordshire County Council's budget proposals this year, there are the equivalent of 472,000 households expected to pay the equivalent of Band D council tax in 2026/27.

And that, according to the data, is 0.59% higher than this 2025/26 financial year – with similar annual increases of 0.46% recorded in this financial year (2025/26) – and of 0.54% in 2024/25.

But the increase falls short of the national average of 1%. Cllr Roberts, the leader of the county council's Conservative group, believes it should be higher.

According to the budget document, the district and borough councils – who are the billing authorities in Hertfordshire – have put the lower rate of growth down to lower collection rates, the increases in the cost of council tax support schemes and lower than forecast increases in housing development.

But in a motion submitted to the latest meeting of the county council (February 17), Cllr Roberts suggested that the "loss" of council tax could be "ill-afforded at a time of high demand for services, high cost and severe financial constraints".

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And he called for an immediate review of collection practice with district and borough councils.

The motion also calls for a review of 'council tax support schemes', which the motion says "appear inconsistent across the county".

It suggests that the work would inform preparation for the Local Government Reorganisation process, suggesting there will need to be a more consistent approach to collection and to subsidy.

The motion was not debated by the meeting of the full council. And it will now be passed to a meeting of the county council's resources and performance cabinet panel for further consideration.

However, following the meeting, a spokesperson for the county council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Council Tax collection and the operation of discount and support schemes are matters for Hertfordshire's district and borough councils."

The data published as part of the county council's budget document reveals the taxbase figure for each of the 10 district or borough areas in 2026/27.

That taxbase figure is equivalent to the number of households expected to pay the equivalent of Band D council tax in 2026/27.

The highest taxbase figure of 65,819.2 is expected in East Hertfordshire in 2026/27, and the lowest of 28,884.5 in Stevenage.

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Elsewhere across the county, the taxbase figures are 65,102.5 in St Albans; 60,641.8 in Dacorum; 51,307.9 in North Hertfordshire; 43,121.1 in Hertsmere; 44,511.4 in Welwyn Hatfield; 40,124.8 in Three Rivers; 36,822.6 in Broxbourne; and 35,687.7 in Watford.

The data also shows the expected increase in the taxbase in 2026/27 from this year.

The increase is highest in Stevenage at 1.09%, and lowest in Hertsmere, where the taxbase figure has gone down by 0.49%.

Elsewhere, the predicted increases are: Dacorum 1.05%; North Hertfordshire 0.93%; East Hertfordshire 0.77%; St Albans 0.73%; Welwyn Hatfield 0.59%; Broxbourne 0.51%; Three Rivers 0.21%; and Watford 0.11%.