Budget cuts worth £39 million that will “impact significantly” on council services have been unveiled – as well as a hike in council tax.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet has approved draft savings of more than £12.8m for the next financial year, while also proposing a 3.9% rise in council tax.
This means the owner of an average Band D property will pay £992 – not including charges for police and community councils.
A cut in Welsh Government funding of 3.4% means the council will receive £9m less cash next year and is expecting similar decreases over the following two years.
Further cuts of over £14m in 2016/17, and £12m in 2017/18, are being planned in a bid to balance future budgets, taking the saving proposals to £39m over three years.
Draft proposals for next year include increasing the price of Meals on Wheels, closing day care centres and removing Bargoed’s annual ice rink.
Meanwhile, funding to help pensioners with their council tax could be withdrawn, street cleaning reduced and library opening times limited.
Streetlights could also be switched off for part of the night in residential areas to save cash.
But cabinet members stressed they are protecting social services and the most vulnerable in the county borough.
The proposals will be scrutinised by the public and councillors over the next three months before final proposals are voted upon by full council.
At a cabinet meeting on October 29, Cllr Keith Reynolds, Leader of the council stressed the proposals were open to public consultation and encouraged residents to take part.
He said: “These are still unprecedented financial times for local authorities. It’s becoming more and more difficult to achieve the type of savings we are talking about but lessen the impact.
“We are sending out a very strong message with this budget that it’s our overwhelming intention to protect frontline services wherever we can.
“We will be looking at reducing, rationalising, but saving services as far as we can.
“We have given a commitment as well to our staff that compulsory redundancies are a last resort.
“That will be more difficult in the next financial year and the one beyond.”
Gary Enright, Branch Secretary of Unison at Caerphilly County Borough Council, said he is “warming to the continuing commitment of no compulsory redundancies” and said the council could not consider layoffs when they “haven’t explored” all saving options
Cllr Reynolds added: “The savings targets facing us are tough and we will need to take some difficult decisions, but I am confident we will continue to deal with these challenges with a measured and balanced approach.”
Plaid Cymru group leader, Cllr Colin Mann, hit out at the proposed council tax rise.
He said: “I’m not surprised at the size of the rise – council tax-payers in the county borough are used to being caned by Labour administrations.
“It was pushed through without any formal discussion at the public cabinet meeting.
“We appreciate the financial difficulties local authorities are facing, but in Caerphilly the position has not been helped by the senior officers’ pay scandal. That will cost the people of Caerphilly many millions of pounds before it finally reaches its very expensive conclusion.
“It is disappointing that Labour refuses to reduce the pay of those at the top earning six figure salaries and also won’t trim spending by cutting the number of cabinet members.”
• Cabinet members have agreed to reduce their own salaries by 5% as a contribution towards the savings.
Cllr Keith Reynolds, currently receives £47,500 for his council duties meaning his new salary will save the council £2,375.
Deputy Leader Gerald Jones, receives £31,120 with fellow deputy Barbara Jones getting £31,250, having not forgone a salary increase recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, as many other councillors did.
Other cabinet members receive £28,780 or £29,000 if they accepted the recommended pay rise, meaning each member will save the council between £1,149 and £1,450.
Once again Labour hit low paid working families where it hurts with a frankly disgusting and more than three times the current rate of inflation council tax rise, typical Labour mentality, they need to raise more money so they do the only thing they know and that’s bash the public with more tax hikes – it beggars belief that people vote Labour when this is all they ever do and all they will ever do.
Caerphilly Council, like all other Welsh local Authorities, have to make savings to balance the books, the fact is in Caerphilly Borough Council they are trying to maintain public facing services ( Front line services), in some instances this does not make economic sense, for instance, they have failed to tackle the huge £1,000,000, plus expenditure on what they call ` Community Safety` but specifically this money is spent on engaging `street wardens`, who are dressed like robo cops, in uniforms which resemble a POLICEMANS uniform, and with a very expensive communications network between themselves and a control room, ( Which the Caerphilly Ratepayers also pay for) these people were originally established a `Street Wardens` they have no statutory powers to deal with anything on the strrets of the borough, they now have brand new vans ( Paid for by the ratepaters of the Borough) and are never, ever, seen walking the streets alone, always in pairs, “whats that all about??”, and then only after hey have parked thier very expensive vehicles, `down the road, rerady for a quick exit if things too much for them,
This private securiy outfit, paid for by the us, is a disgraceful deception on the public, and a totally unecessary expenditure, they do not react to the publics concerns, they have no statutory authority to do anything, except of course wake up in the morning and get all reved up, don a play unifirm to look like a policeman, and hide behind trees to catch the occassional irresponsible dog owner who fails to clean up after their pets, or an equally irresponsible litter bug, without any public debate on the issue, the GWENT CHIEF CONSTABLE has authorised these untrained, individuals, to undertake duties under The Road Traffic Act to deal with Road closures etc.replicating what is trained officer are employed to do, the Caerphilly Street Wardens have very little or no proper command and support structure in place, largely being left to thier own devices unlike other `public facing` `enfocement people who have to work within public scrutiny guidelines and regulations, and very robust commend structures.
Save the ratepayers over a million pounds from the budgets, and still maintain meals on wheels to the disabled and elderly, disband this group of private security individuals and absolutely nobody is adverselly effected. Certainly no the ratepayers who pick up the bill.
The worst part of it is when trouble does break out, they call for proper policemen reinforcements. The ratepayers are paying twice for one service.
Yet Caerphilly continue to waste gargantuan sums of money. There is no need for a council tax increase, there is no real need to continue this flawed banded scheme of the tax (I would prefer something similar to poll tax). If the council controlled their finances, paid reasonable salaries, didn’t waste money, scrapped most of what they spend money on and made decisions good for the community without making every move based on an ideology taxes would not need to rise.
Dean is quite correct avout th street wardens, but these people should not be mixed up with Police Community Officers, these are well trained and work on a proactive and reactive basis keeping our streets safe, the people I am talking about are another `tier` of Council Employed security staff who walk our streets doing very little which engages with the ratepayers, they are a `tool` of the Council, paid for by us and who`s efficiency cannot and is not measured at all by anyone. Cost to the ratepayers of Caerphilly? over a million pounds.
Worrying that cuts can be achieved considering the scope of services the council provides. Central government is completely to blame for imposing the cuts to councils. During periods of financial difficulties the simple solution is borrow. If the council can make 13 million savings now why did they not do this in the past. A totally new approach is needed how councils spend the people’s money. If the res session caused a 40% loss by the greed of the banks and housing markets they should pay. Not the poor. Why have we got food banks and child poverty in this country. Something sounds completely wrong.