Wiltshire residents facing Council Tax rise of almost 5%
The budget for the next financial year has been approved by the Council
Last updated 24th Feb 2021
Wiltshire's households are facing a 4.99% hike in their total Council Tax bills.
Properties in the area covered by Wiltshire Council are seeing their Council Tax rise by 1.99%, with a 3% levy specifically for Adult Social Care.
According to the local authority, the increase is required to address its ÂŁ8.6 million shortfall, largely due to an increasing older population.
UNPRECEDENTED YEAR
Wiltshire Council says 2020 presented 'challenges like no other', with the impact of COVID-19 leaving a ÂŁ5m gap in funding.
The loss of income mainly came from services like car parking, leisure and libraries being affected by the pandemic.
The local authority has stressed that the budget, signed-off at a Full Council meeting on Tuesday 23 February, is 'balanced'.
WHAT ELSE WAS AGREED
- A ÂŁ6.6m allocation for investment in Children's Social Care, with a further ÂŁ1.5m response to rising demand for special educational needs service.
- Increase of investment in waste services by ÂŁ2.6m, to a total of ÂŁ42.3m.
- A six-fold increase in the Council's discretionary hardship fund to ÂŁ300,000. Designed to assist those families and residents that, after undertaking all avenues of support to reduce their council tax bill, need further support from the local authority.
An investment of nearly ÂŁ2m to help fund the planned ÂŁ214m investment in its capital programme, which includes:
- Investing over ÂŁ22m in maintaining Wiltshire's road network.
- Investing over ÂŁ23m in schools, including replacing the lower block at Stonehenge School.
- Continued investment of over ÂŁ20m in the Council's Health and Wellbeing centre sites, including the significant investment in Melksham Community Campus.
- Continued investment into carbon reduction initiatives. This includes ÂŁ3m for the final transition to LED streetlights and more than ÂŁ4m for energy efficiency projects for its buildings and estate.
- Investment of over ÂŁ50m in housing for Wiltshire, with around 1,000 new council houses provided over the next 10 years.
MARKET TOWNS BACKED
Meanwhile a ÂŁ4m fund, spread over the next 4 years, will be allocated to support market towns hit hard by lockdown.
The exact use of the money will be determined later in the year.
The Council also claims it will receive significant one-off funding support from the government over the next 12 months, recognising its 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".