BEVERLEY town council is to raise the precept it levies by 7.5%.
The authority set its budget on Monday amid some heated exchanges with ward councillors.
The Labour group has declared an intention to expand the services offered by the council.
Coun Peter Astell, Chair of Property and Services, has this week taken delivery of a compact tractor which will allow “operatives” to plough allotments and to grit pavements in bad weather, as well as carry out grass cutting in the summer.
Coun Margaret Pinder, Chair of the council and Town Mayor said: “We want to offer our residents better value year on year.
“We are looking forward not just to 2013/14 but to what we hope to achieve beyond that.
“This budget is designed to make Beverley Town Council fit for purpose in the face of government calls for localism and we believe that the modest increase of 7.57% on the precept overall will allow us to do this in terms of equipment, staffing and infrastructure.”
The planned closure and sale of the Samman Road Centre was also discussed and the council agreed to look into the viability of acquiring the site for community use in the future.
Councillors also agreed to join forces with East Riding Council to run a pilot scheme in the town encouraging households to sign up for the new Green Deal initiative on home energy improvements
The precept will be levied by the town council but will be collected as part of the overall council tax bill which residents will receive from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. This will also include charges from the police and fire services.