A CITY's council tax is likely to rise by five per cent this year, after local people rejected any larger increase.

A public ballot in York saw 54 per cent of respondents opting for the lower of three options, which were increases of five per cent, 7.5 per cent or ten per cent.

Council leader Steve Galloway said the city council would respect people's views, but warned that there would be some reductions in services.

A total of 82,000 ballot cards were sent out with the December issue of the council's newsletter and nine per cent of them, about 7,000, were returned.

Of those returned, 17 per cent of people voted for a 7.5 per cent increase while 12 per cent of respondents voted for a ten per cent increase.

Coun Galloway said a five per cent increase in the council tax would lead to a £111,000 cut in economic development activities, which was about five per cent of the budgets for the promotion of tourism and available development sites.

Short-stay parking charges at Piccadilly, Castle and Bootham Row, will be increased to £2 an hour.

However, Coun Galloway said he was delighted to have been at the forefront of a campaign to give residents more say over key decisions affecting their lives.

He said; "As with any other groundbreaking initiative, I am sure that we can improve the process for next year."