Council could raise tax by 2.5% next year

PEOPLE in the Vale of Glamorgan face a mooted 2.5% council tax hike from April next year.

Vale of Glamorgan Council is considering a tax hike as it faces a budget deficit of around £15.7m between 2019-20 and 2021-22.

The council has made £50m in savings in the past eight years.

No final decision has yet been made on how much council tax will rise by, and the council’s actual funding shortfall will not be known until December.

But a provisional plan on how the council may balance the books is assuming council tax will rise by 2.5% for each of the next three years to raise an additional £1.7m each year.

The plan also says an even higher percentage increase in council tax could be considered to plug the financial gap.

By law, the council has to fix the rate of council tax by March 11 next year.

Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, the council could have to save an estimated £15.714m excluding schools – £3.627m of savings have already been identified and £12.087m is yet to be allocated.

A report to the cabinet says the savings “will be extremely challenging in the context of historical savings already delivered”.

“As a result of the high level of savings required, there will be difficulties in maintaining the quality and quantity of services without exploring opportunities for collaboration and alternative forms of service delivery,” the report says.

“The savings targets will have an impact on staffing levels; however, the eventual impact on job numbers is not known.”

Vale of Glamorgan council’s cabinet voted last Monday to send the report to the Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.