Council tax bills to go up by almost 4%

By gmakin

Council tax bills in Walsall are set to rise by 3.8 per cent this year – but council bosses say the majority of Walsall residents will only have to pay an extra 9p a day.

The proposed increase, approved by the council's cabinet, would mean £33.10 per year more for half of all residents in the borough living in Band A homes, going up an extra £49.65 per year on the bill for those living in Band D.

The rises are necessary to help meet the council's net budget requirement of £237.194 million to deliver services in 2009-10, senior councillors said.

Conservative cabinet member for finance and personnel, Councillor Al Griffiths, a £2 million deficit in income because of the recession meant there had been difficult decisions.

"Despite this we have still succeeded in investing an additional £2 million in adult social care; an extra £600,000 in children's services to target the most vulnerable of our children; investing £275,000 in the welfare rights service in response to the demand for advice, and £650,000 in the roll out of the new waste and disposal service," he said.

"We are also investing in our parks, our roads and attracting grants of up to £200 million into our primary and secondary schools."

Council leader Cllr John O'Hare said: "These are very difficult times but we have attempted to protect the most vulnerable people – the elderly and children of the borough – to ensure they don't suffer.

But the increases were attacked by opposition politicians.

Labour group leader Cllr Tim Oliver said : "We know times are hard for the local economy and local people, but it is also a fact that our Conservative council has now put up our council tax by over 70 per cent in the last nine years that they have been running our council, which is an extra £558 per year at band D and an average of nearly eight per cent per year.

"Further, as reported last week, the situation would be much worse if the Government had not just come up with an additional £4.6 million towards the ring road deficit."

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Ian Shires doubted whether the budget would protect OAPs and children.

"Walsall's Tory leader said that the budget was an attempt to primarily protect the most vulnerable," he said.

"If that's the case then why is it that almost £90,000 is to be sliced off the social care budget? Home and day care charges are to be increased by an inflation-busting 6.3 per cent and Meals on Wheels are to go up by 10 per cent."

The proposed increase will go forward to full council on February 23.