Council tax could rise in bid to plug budget gap
RAISING council tax, increasing charges for burials and funding cuts to services are some of the ways Cardiff council is looking to plug a £35.2m budget gap next year.
The council is also looking to rent out the New Theatre to a private company and reduce subsidies for major events in Cardiff in an attempt to balance the books. Council tax could rise by 4.3%, the growth of schools funding could be capped and council-owned parks could be transferred to sports groups.
But the authority warns it needs to make £19.4m savings – with services such as highways, waste and parks bearing the brunt. It comes after the council got a 0.4% increase in funding this year – just £1.6m – while it needs to find £36.8m to maintain frontline services at current levels.
The council, which faces a £92.9m funding gap over the next three years, will set out its 2019-20 budget proposals in a public consultation from Friday, November 16 until January 2.
The amount council tax is increasing by could change following the final budget settlement in December.
Schools and social services would get a cash increase in the proposed 201920 budget, while all other services would see cash funding cuts.
Budgets for highways, waste, parks, back office staff and other services will bear 70% of the cuts. But savings would need to be made in all departments.
Schools and social services would take up £397m of the council’s £609m budget. Next year, the council is proposing to give schools an extra £10.2m, but this would only count for 70% of their growing cost pressures – a £3.8m real-term cut overall.
The council wants to help open five new residential children’s homes in 2019 and launch a new fostering service, so more children can be cared for in Cardiff – saving £1.5m of £6m efficiencies planned for social services. The council also believes it can save £404,000 by passing on the running of the New Theatre to a private tenant.
Cremation costs would rise from £560 to £640 and burial costs from £660 to £760, saving a further £301,000. Customer services would become increasingly automated, saving £300,000. The council would also save £245,000 by reducing its subsidies of major events.
Council-owned sports facilities could be passed on to clubs and other organisations, saving £25,000. Littering fines would be raised from £80 to £100.
Under the proposals, the council’s economic development department would need to shed £3.2m, planning transport and environment £4.2m, corporate resources £2.9m, housing and communities £868,000, and governance and legal services £372,000.
It all means around 75 jobs at the council could go.
Raising council tax, using £2.5m of reserves and a £4m financial resilience mechanism – money the council put aside to deal with uncertain Welsh Government funding levels – and capping schools growth would bridge £15.8m of the funding gap.
The £19.4m savings target would be made up of £2m in income generation, £2.5m by working with other public sector bodies to save money, almost £8m on streamlining business processes, £3.4m on reviewing external spending and £3.5m from better prevention and early intervention measures.