Aberdeenshire council tax to go up by 10%

Council tax in Aberdeenshire is to go up by 10%.

A council meeting agreed the budget for 2026/27, with £9m of savings.

Council tax for a Band D property in the local authority area will go up by £153 a year as a result of the double-figure rise.

Savings agreed included reduced school grounds maintenance.

Council co-leader, Lib Dem Anne Stirling, told the meeting it was hard to balance competing demands.

The SNP-led opposition had proposed a lower council tax increase of 8.5%.

Council tax had already risen by 10% the previous year.

Councillors in Moray also backed a 10% increase on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, it was decided council tax in Shetland would rise by 7.3%.

In Aberdeen, a rise of 8.13% is being recommended.

Last month, the Scottish government said its Budget delivered record funding of almost £15.7bn for local authorities, a real-terms increase of 2%.