CLEVELAND Police Authority has agreed to a 3.5 per cent council tax precept to protect frontline services following a stark warning from its temporary chief constable.

Jacqui Cheer told members she could not guarantee that officer levels would not be affected if further cuts were made to the force’s budget.

And there was a warning that the £100,000-a-month cost of Operation Sacristy, the ongoing fraud investigation into people with current or past associations with the authority, needed to be formulated into the budget.

Mrs Cheer said: “A 3.5 per cent raise gives us a budget which is tough but which is achievable but there is no wriggle room. This is the budget that we have planned for and any less and I will not be able to keep frontline services up to the level we currently have.

“I would strongly ask you to go with what is planned, to do any less I cannot guarantee frontline services.”

Members faced the choice of imposing a 3.5 per cent or a four per cent increase in the precept. Another option was to impose a zero per cent increase and take advantage of a one-off Government grant.

Authority treasurer Michael Porter told members that the cost of Operation Sacristy had been factored into the budget and if funding to cover the cost was granted by the Government, any excess in the budget would be used to boost the force’s financial reserves.

Terry Laing, who represents Stockton Borough Council on the authority, supported the plan to impose the 3.5 per cent increase.

He said: “I think that we are in an unusual situation because of Sacristy and what implications that those costs have for the authority’s finances.”

Independent member Peter Hadfield said: “The chief constable cannot guarantee fromtline services with anything less than 3.5 per cent – that’s a pretty stark message and hearing that has been a clincher for me.”

Chairman Stuart Drummond added: “Our priority is to protect the public, that’s what we are here to do and that’s what the public wants us to do.”