Surrey County Council is set to make a final decision on plans to increase its portion of the council tax by almost 3%.

The Government has offered all local authorities a one-off grant payment – equivalent to a tax rise of 2.5% – if they freeze council tax in 2012/13.

However, Surrey County council is currently looking at a proposal to turn down the money and increase its share of the council tax by 2.99% instead.

A final decision on the matter will be made at a meeting of the full council tomorrow (Tuesday).

The county council’s Conservative cabinet backed the proposal at a meeting held last week.

Speaking at that meeting, council leader David Hodge said that long-term stability is the key to Surrey’s future.

Short-term solutions, he said, always lead to paying the price.

“A short-term fix will lead us on a financially precarious long-term road,” added Cllr Hodge.

“After exhaustive analysis, I am convinced that the one-off grant is not in the medium- to long-term interests of the Surrey residents.”

But Hazel Watson, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group at County Hall, has questioned the need for a tax rise of 2.99%.

“While there is no escaping that to protect services over the coming years there has to be an increase in council tax, the plans by the Conservative administration are in excess of what is required to balance the books and are an unnecessary burden on Surrey's council tax payers in the recession,” she said.

During a speech last month, meanwhile, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said that councillors have a "moral duty" to sign up to the government's tax freeze grant.

The full council meeting will be held at County Hall in Kingston from 10.30am.