Flintshire Council faces an £18 million gap. Must debate a 9.5% Council Tax rise to protect services and build reserves.
Members will also vote on raising Council Tax by 9.5%. This includes 8.93% for council services. Also, it adds 0.57% for fire and coroner services.
Council Leader Dave Hughes knows this is tough. He says it’s vital to meet the public’s needs. He says national underfunding forced spending cuts. The council cut £125 million already.
The Welsh Government provides 70% of funds. Flintshire gets less than the Welsh average. The council would gain £173 per person with average funds. This totals about £26.9 million more.
Wales faces rising demand for key services. Homelessness, social services, and Streetscene need more funds. They will pressure the Welsh Government for fair funding.
The Welsh Government offers at least 3.8% more funding. Nine councils will get more, Flintshire included. Flintshire will receive £1.2 million extra. They plan to add it to contingency reserves.
Deputy Leader Richard Jones wants to build up reserves. They aim for £3.9 million in the contingency fund. This is much less than in past years. They want to avoid using the funding to cut taxes. They fear growing costs for social care and homelessness. Reserves must cover unexpected costs.
All departments found more savings. They cut costs by about £3.3 million. They also reduced cost pressures by £2.6 million. They suggest cutting school budgets by 2.5%. Yet, school budgets still gain almost £7 million.
Finance Member Paul Johnson calls the challenges huge. He says they examined every option carefully. He knows taxes affect people. Still, the tax increase helps protect key services. This is needed with significant cost savings.