Council considers 7% tax rise to meet budget shortfall
COUNCIL tax in Caerphilly county borough could rise by nearly 7% to help tackle a £15.6m funding shortfall.
Wide-ranging cuts to schools, libraries and highways budgets are being considered by Caerphilly council for 2019/2020, with closures of public toilets and recycling centres also mooted.
Council leader David Poole said the authority faced “heartbreaking decisions” amidst “unprecedented times” for local government across Wales.
Caerphilly is facing a £1.3m reduction in Welsh Government funding next year, with the council saying existing pressures to fund public services has made the situation worse.
Under the draft proposals schools would face cuts of £2.1m, with £243,000 being withdrawn from funding used to support schools struggling to improve their inspection results.
School meals at primary and secondary schools could also rise by 10p from £2 and £2.35 respectively.
Public services will be the area hardest hit by the draft budget proposals, with the £4.4m cut proposed accounting for almost a third of the entire savings required.
Nearly £1.6m could be culled from community and leisure services, with plans to close four community centres and withdraw funding from a further two.
Public toilets in Caerphilly, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, and bus stations in Blackwood and Bargoed could also close.
Meals Direct, the council’s meals on wheels service, could be scrapped – except for certain clients – to save £141,000, while stopping the Community Safety Warden scheme could save £355,000.
Waste services will also be reduced with proposals to close Penallta and Aberbargoed household waste recycling centres, while residents could be charged for larger waste collections.
Charges could also be brought in for residential parking permits, while public car parking charges could be increased for the first time in eight years.
Reduced spending is also proposed within libraries, youth, adult services and day care, with redundancies earmarked within the parks and countryside workforce.
More than £500,000 could be cut from staffing budgets within adult services, with further plans to redesign day care services.
A council tax increase of 6.95% – equating to an annual increase of £73.51 or £1.41 for a Band D property – has been proposed to help towards savings.
“My discussions with other council leaders across Wales paint an equally bleak picture for local government as we’ve known it to date,” said Cllr Poole.
“None of us want to increase council tax, but we have no alternative but to ask our residents to pay a little more for the services they receive.
“It’s heartbreaking to even have to contemplate having to make some of the savings proposals that are facing us, but the fact remains that we cannot make such vast savings from our budget and expect things to remain the same.”
Since 2008 cuts of £89m have been made by the authority, and Cllr Poole has warned that a further £60m will have to be found over the next five years.
The Welsh Government is in line to receive £550m from the UK government over the next three years, though it remains unclear how much money will trickle down to local councils.
Cabinet will discuss the proposals on November 14.