RESIDENTS have just over a week to decide how much tax they are prepared to pay over the coming year.

Four options have been put out to consultation by Harrow Council accompanied by the amount of reductions and cuts needed to balance the books.

The lowest option is a four per cent rise, which would mean £8.66 million worth of cuts. A six per cent rise would entail £7.38 million worth of budget reductions, while the eight per cent option would mean only £6.09 million.

However, if residents want the lowest amount of cuts in services they should opt for the 10 per cent rise and subsequently £4.8 million worth of reductions.

The Labour group's preferred option would be an increase of six per cent, to £835.35, equating to an extra 91p per week for a Band D household.

"We believe that option C would strike the right balance between keeping the Council Tax at a reasonable level, while protecting services and allowing for growth in the budget," said council leader, Cllr Bob Shannon.

He said whatever the outcome, the council is honouring its commitment to making no compulsory staff redundancies but changes in services could include a review of the charges for meals-on-wheels and day centre meals and limiting the free rodent control service to homes receiving benefits.

Small charges would also be introduced for schools using the Bannister Sports Centre for certain activities.

The deadline for the residents' decision is Wednesday next week.