Dudley Council budget set to be approved
It comes as it's trying to plug a 5 million gap.
Last updated 4th Mar 2024
Dudley Council's set to sign off it's budget later - but says it's still at risk of having to declare itself effectively bankrupt if there are any big unexpected bills.
The authority's managed to find 15 million pounds of savings - but is having to plug a 5 million gap with reserves.
If approved today - council tax will rise by almost 5 percent from April.
It comes as the council faces rising costs, cuts in grants from government and the council’s long-term policy of low tax and low reserves.
Last month the Local Government Association said: “This is the sixth one-year settlement in a row for councils which continues to hamper financial planning and their financial sustainability.”
Last autumn the authority faced unexpected extra costs of around £7m in adult social care and another £5m in children’s services which added pressure to its budget.
That meant that at the end of the current financial year the council will need to take an extra ÂŁ9m from its general reserves to balance the books.
Following an intervention by external auditors in February, the authority allocated ÂŁ3.3m to a contingency fund which will be used if there are unexpected financial pressures.
In recent years, Dudley Council has been a low council tax authority, on average ten percent less than similar authorities.
If the budget is approved, Dudley’s council tax will be set at £1,937.36 for a Band D property including £215.55 for the police and £75.20 for the fire service.