3.7% council tax rise is to be debated

COUNCIL tax bills in Gwynedd could rise by 3.7% from April under proposals to be debated this week.

On Thursday, Gwynedd Council’s Audit Committee will discuss the 2021/22 budget which, if approved with the 3.7% rise, would see average bills rise by £52.92 a year or £1.02 a week.

Any decision will not be made until the full council meets in March, but the proposals will be discussed by both the Audit Committee and Cabinet before going out to public consultation.

But despite the draft settlement proposing that the authority will receive an extra 3.4% from central government, over £30m of cuts over the past decade was said to have taken its toll on the ability to make many further cuts in service.

The report notes: “This year, for 2021/22, the Council has received a grant increase which addresses inflation, and is a fairer settlement than those in the years before 2020/21.

“Nevertheless, some decisions must be made to finance nearly unavoidable increases in the cost of some core services and increasing the tax. It is recommended that the Tax is increased by 3.7% in 2021/22 in order to protect essential services for the people of

Gwynedd, as it would be impractical to implement additional savings schemes this year.

“Savings schemes previously planned were selected in those areas which will have the least effect upon our citizens, but by now it is more challenging to identify and achieve savings.”