Claims council tax would be increased by £650 year on year had the county council not saved almost £315 million in public money has been branded “misleading”.

Liberal Democrat district councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst slammed claims by Hertfordshire County Council that had it not saved millions over the past eight years from its annual budget band D households would face council tax increases exceeding £600 each year.

The county council stated the figures in a press release asking the public what its budget priorities for next year should be.

Mr Giles-Medhurst told the Watford Observer this view was “factually inaccurate” because tax increases have been capped and could not go up by that much.

He said: “Hertfordshire County Council stated that had it not made savings of £315 million in the last eight years the council tax bill would have been £650 higher per year.

“There are a number of issues with this statement. One being there is a cap on council tax that would have required a referendum to go above that, and in every year that a cap has applied the council has almost always put it to the legal maximum.

“This statement is at best misleading and clearly factually inaccurate.” 

In the press release the county council is consulting taxpayers on how it should spend its savings on services such as social services, highways and the Fire and Rescue Service.  

The county council has been contacted.