Wiltshire Council tax to rise by almost 5%
The local authority has approved its budget for the next financial year
Last updated 24th Feb 2021
Households in the county will see a 4.99% hike in their council tax bill from Wiltshire Council
Basic council tax is going up 1.99% but there's also a 3% levy specifically for Adult Social Care.
Bosses say that's needed to address the £8.6m growth due to an increasing older population and their needs.
UNPRECEDENTED YEAR
Wiltshire Council say 2020 presented 'challenges like no other' with the impact of Covid-19 leaving a £5m shortfall.
The loss of income mainly came from services like car parking, leisure and libraries which were all affected by the pandemic.
The local authority stress the budget signed off at meeting of the Full Council yesterday (23rd February) is 'balanced.'
WHAT ELSE WAS AGREED
- A £6.6m allocation for investment in Children's Social Care and a further £1.5m to respond to rising demand for special educational needs service
- Increase of investment in waste services by £2.6m to a total of £42.3m
- A six-fold increase in its discretionary hardship fund to £300k, held to assist those families and residents that, after undertaking all avenues of support to reduce their council tax bill, need further support from the council
- An investment of nearly £2m to help fund the planned £214m investment in its capital programme, which includes:
- Investing over £22m in maintaining Wiltshire's road network.
- Investing over £23m in schools, including the replacement of the lower block at Stonehenge School.
- Continued investment of over £20m in the council's Health & Wellbeing centre sites, including the significant investment in Melksham Community Campus
- Continued investment into carbon reduction initiatives, with £3m for the final transition to LED streetlights and more than £4m for energy efficiency projects for its buildings and estate
- Investment of over £50m in housing for Wiltshire, with around 1,000 new council houses provided over the next 10 years
SUPPORT FOR MARKET TOWNS
Meanwhile, a £4m fund, £1m every year for the next 4 years, will be set up to help support Market Towns hit hard by the pandemic
The exact use of the money will be determined later in the year.
The council say they will receive significant one off funding support from the government over the next year in recognition of the ongoing response to the pandemic.
Cllr Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement and Commercial Investment, said:
"We are very pleased the budget has been agreed and our focus now is to ensure we give the county and its residents the best opportunities to recover from the pandemic."
"Although it's been an uncertain financial time to say the least, our strong financial management, prudent planning and transparent way of working means we are still in a position to invest significantly in key services and programmes."
" The effect of the pandemic will undoubtedly be felt for some time to come, but we'll continue to work hard and think innovatively and focus our resources in the right areas to ensure Wiltshire continues to be a great place to live, work and visit."
On its journey to being discussed and debated at Full Council, the budget was rigorously scrutinised by various groups, including members, group leaders, trade union representatives and the council's Overview and Scrutiny Management committee."