February 28, 2019 - 1432 views
Council Tax is set to rise significantly in the Bay of Colwyn and across the county as members of the council met earlier to set their budgets for the forthcoming year. Households will see bills increase by 9.6%.
As well as that increase, the need to generate additonal income to balance the books could see an increase in the cost of visiting leisure centres, theatres and using public ammenities in the area. Many council departments are being asked to slash budgets or increase income to make ends meet.
Cllr Sam Rowlands, Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report to the meeting of the Council.
He said, "The budget for 2019/20 has been one of the most difficult budgets this Authority has had to balance.
“There are pressures outside our control, such as increases in care costs, reductions in specific grants, along with increasing demand for services. This budget addresses the £15.3million resource shortfall and provides for our services by using a combination of budget cuts and a Council Tax rise.
“We’ve listened to the concerns of schools in relation to their budgets, that’s why today we agreed that any additional funding that we receive for pay pressures in schools would be passed straight through to them to support their budgets.”
The Council approved the Budget and set the Council Tax for 2019/20.
The Council supported the recommendation that Conwy County Borough Council’s part of the Band D Council Tax for 2019/20 be £1280.48.
That’s an increase of £112.16 for the year - equivalent to £2.16 extra per week.
Whilst many residents have supported the council with what has been undoubtedly a 'difficult' budget, some have taken to to question why Conwy's senior leaders were allowed to come away with one of the poorest local authority settlements after negotiations with Welsh Government.
