People living in Cardiff will have to pay more for council services they use in the city as of next month.
Cardiff Council met on Thursday evening to confirm a number of proposals to cut down on spending for the next year as it confirmed it is facing a “public sector funding crisis”.
One of their biggest decisions was on whether Council Tax in Cardiff should increase by 6% to counter a predicted £142 million shortfall over the next four years.
How much is council tax going up by?
Council Tax will be going up in Cardiff by 6 percent from April.
The average household in Cardiff will have to pay £85 more a year as a result of this increase.
At the meeting, the Labour cabinet said this was still lower than the average rise elsewhere in the UK.
Why is Council Tax being increased?
A quarter of the council’s funding comes from council tax they collect from people living in Cardiff.
Cardiff Council said it needs £57 million to be able to pay for rising costs such as pay increases for teachers and carers as well as “delivering day-to-day services like education, social care, refuse collection, parks and libraries”.
Despite funding from the Welsh Government of £27m, the council said it needs to find £30.3m.
To close this gap, the council has proposed a number of changes to services. It described the plans as “extremely difficult decisions.
The plans include:
- Increasing Council Tax – this will raise £10 million to fund services
- Proposals to move to three-weekly waste collections for black bin/bag waste are planned to come into place later in the year
- Using reserves (money the council must have in a pot ready to use) – they are using £3.5 million from this.
- Savings – becoming more efficient in their back-offices whilst have the minimum impact on services.
- Front line service changes – reducing funding for Local Action Teams, reducing opening hours for public libraries and hubs, more parking charges, resident parking permit prices, and reducing two park rangers.
Savings and front line service changes are the main way the council are planning close the funding gap.
Cardiff Council said: “When making our proposal we have to balance the sustainability of the Council and protecting our core services alongside recognising that many families are still struggling.
“Our proposal of six percent is one of the lowest increases in Wales, and will leave our Band D Council Tax below the average of many authorities across the UK, but crucially raises more than £10 million to fund our services.
“It is the right level to sustain our Council over the difficult years ahead – as low as we can afford, as high as we need.”