Conwy's proposed council tax rise passes first hurdle

Last year, council tax payers were hit with a 4.95 per cent increase after initially being told to fork out 7 per cent more.

This year, the county’s tax rise could be one of the smaller ones in North Wales, with nearby Denbighshire proposing an extra 3.85 per cent on the charge and Gwynedd looking at a 3.9 per cent hike on last year’s premium.

The council is facing a shortfall of £3.9m with efficiencies accounting for around £2.15m of that and the rest being hoovered up by increasing what council tax payers shell out.

Conwy has around 55,000 dwellings subject to council tax, of which around 21,000 are subject to single person discount.

This year’s  proposed rise, 2 per cent lower than last year, would mean a Band D council tax payer paying around 76p per week more – or £39.64 a year.

That means Band D council tax, before adding police or community council precepts, would rise to £1,384.50 per annum.

The council’s settlement from Welsh Government, the revenue it receives to help carry out its duties, has been provisionally set at £166.9m – an increase of 3.6 per cent. The average increase across Wales was 3.8 per cent.

The budget for education will not be cut this year but the authority must find more than £2m to cope with an expected shortfall caused by teachers’ annual pay rise.

Other services will have to find around 2 per cent in savings on average according to Andrew Kirkham, strategic director of finance for Conwy county council.

He revealed departments had been asked to find more than £65m in cuts.

Mr Kirkham said he didn’t believe there would be any deviation by Welsh Government from its provisional settlement figure, the money it gives the council to supply services, of around £166.9m, a rise of 3.6% on last year.

Across Wales councils received an average rise of 3.8% in their settlement.

The authority also gets revenue from leisure facilities, car parks, non-domestic rates and rental income from council owned premises.