Next year’s council tax increase could be lowered to as little as 1%.
Caerphilly County Borough Council had originally drafted a budget for 2016/17 with a 3.9% increase.
But a better than expected financial settlement from the Welsh Government means councillors can reduce the increase, and review some of the planned cuts to services.
Cllr Keith Reynolds, Labour’s leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, said: “We want to limit the impact of any cuts on our community, so we will listen to the feedback from our recent budget consultation and reconsider our proposed list of savings.
“In particular, we want to reduce the burden of any council tax increase, so I’m sure our proposed 1% increase will be welcomed by residents across the county borough.”
“We still need to make around £9 million savings over the next 12 months and will face further savings in subsequent years, but I want to assure local people that we are doing everything possible to minimise cuts, protect frontline services and protect the vulnerable people in our community.”
Responding to the announcement of a reduced 1% increase in council tax, Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group, said: “We are pleased that the Labour group has listened to and acted upon the appeal by Plaid Cymru councillors to reduce the proposed 3.9% increase.
“There was simply no justification for maintaining a 3.9% rise after the much better than expected financial settlement given to the council by the Welsh Government.
“But even before a rise of 1% Labour has increased Band D bills for residents of Caerphilly county borough by £94.18 since 2012 against just £25 over four years when Plaid Cymru ran the authority between 2008 and 2012.
“There are still areas where savings can be made, such as cutting the number of cabinet members, and Labour also will not look at cutting the proposed pay packages for well-paid chief officers? Why won’t they?”
The 2016/17 budget will be formally agreed at a meeting of council at the end of February.
Cost of Gwent Police to rise by 3.99%
The cost of Gwent Police to residents is set to rise next year with a 3.99% increase in the proportion of council tax going to the force.
This means a Band D property will pay £8.44 per year extra for 2016/17.
Ian Johnston, Gwent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said that between the period 2008/09 to 2020/21 Gwent Police will potentially face a deficit of £64 million. To date, Gwent Police has cut more than £37m from its budget to address the deficit.
Welcome news was had earlier this month when the UK Government announced that Gwent Police’s funding for 2016/17 had been cut by just 0.6%, however Mr Johnston said the tax increase was still needed to avoid further cuts.
He said: “This was a decision based purely on policing and not politics.
“We have lost more than three hundred officers in the last five years as a result of severe budget reductions and I had to set the precept at this level in order to maintain, as much as possible, a safe and appropriate level of frontline policing for our residents.
“This increase unfortunately does not mean the end of financial woes facing Gwent Police which still needs to make further savings to meet the demands of austerity and to address unavoidable future service pressures.”
It is a well tried strategy to imply that there will be a very large increase in tax and then sharply reduce it before implementation. The idea is that people get a ‘feel good’ moment, despite the fact their tax has increased and their income has not.
I can’t help wonder whether this has anything to do with the Welsh Assembly election in just over three months time?
A sweetener for the forth coming election is all it is, do they think we came down in the last shower, their arrogance is unbelievable.
Councillor! How could you be so negative? I’m sure our senators only have our best interests at heart and would never indulge in filthy stinking political tactics.
Quite! I was either forgetting myself or maybe getting more cynical and less trusting as I gain experience of the world of politics!
Still 1% too much. Cut pointless funding to cut tax by 1%.