Rise in council tax ‘almost inevitable’

A COUNCIL tax rise is “almost inevitable” and hundreds of job losses are likely as Fife Council strives to balance the books in 2017, its leader has conceded.

David Ross was speaking as he suggested that the recent TV focus on day-to-day life at the council will give people a fuller understanding of the financial challenge facing local authorities across Scotland.

With February’s budget looming and Fife facing a £32 million shortfall, Mr Ross believes that the fly-on-the-wall series The Council will spark debate about how council services should look moving forward.

“I think the most important thing about the programme was that it has got people talking about local government services and the role that local government has in our communities,” he said.

“The programme has illustrated very well the day-to-day work that goes on and, without being political about it, it has demonstrated the challenges and the pressures that the funding situation puts on us.

“There are obviously some really difficult choices and decisions that have to be made because we haven’t got the funding to do all the things everybody would like us to do.”

More cuts are certainly on their way, and Mr Ross revealed that officers have given early indications of job losses.

“It’s too early to make any real predictions but the top line figure we’ve been told this year is around 300,” he said.

One way open to councils to help bridge the budget gap is to raise revenue through council tax, and it now looks odds on that Fife’s will rise by up to 3% — the maximum figure set out by the Scottish Government when it lifted the council tax freeze.

“The final decision hasn’t been taken but I think it’s almost inevitable,” Mr Ross admitted.

Lochee High Street The Royal Arch site at Dundee’s Waterfront.