Council tax in Cardiff will rise by 4.9% after the council approved a new budget last night.
This means that if you are in a Band D property, you will pay an extra £1.09 per week – about £56 per year.
The cost of cremations, burials and rehoming dogs will all increase.
- Costs of cremations will rise from £560 to £640
- Burials will increase from £660 to £760
- The cost of re-homing a dog will go up by £30 and a puppy by £10
The rise is more than double the rate of inflation (1.8% in January) and is set to plug a £32 million budget gap in Cardiff next year.
On top of this, the council will make savings across all departments which could lead to more than 50 job losses in street cleansing, waste management and libraries.
£10 million has been set aside for schools and a further £5 million for social services, the only two sectors to see their budgets increase.
The value of Welsh Government grants to councils has dropped by £918.5m in 2017-18, compared to 2009-10. The Welsh Government claim to have offered the “best possible settlement” after nine years of austerity.
Joe Boyle, leader of Cardiff Liberal Democrats says their amendment to the budget which was voted down would have: “put an additional £500,000 into services for rough sleepers, whilst at the same time keeping council tax down to 4%.
“We think this is a missed opportunity to put really important money into an area that is a real problem in our city, unfortunately the Labour budget misses that opportunity.”
Meanwhile, the future of the New Theatre in Cardiff is uncertain after the council announced their intention to privatise it.
The New Theatre in Cardiff-currently run by the council
The lease is being advertised in a bid to save the council over £400,000 per year.