Free bus travel and council tax freeze key features of Perth and Kinross budget
Councillors set out the local authority's spending plans earlier
Perth and Kinross councillors are backing a tax freeze and free bus travel for all on the first Saturday of every month as part of their new budget.
The SNP's proposals - with some revisions from other groups - was voted through earlier.
The council tax freeze for 2024/25 is on top of 2025/26 and 2026/27 increases being kept below 5% a year.
Councillor Grant Laing, Leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “Today hasn’t been easy.
“We’ve had to accept cuts in places that we would have preferred not to.
“To increase charges that we would have preferred to remain the same.
“But, we have also been able to reject cuts of almost £4million to minimise the impact on the most vulnerable people in our communities, so that we can keep providing support to help people maintain their tenancies, keep primary school swimming lessons, and minimise school meal increases.
“The Council Tax freeze is good news for residents at a financially difficult time.
"However, to help support the delivery of our balanced and prudent budget we’ve also challenged Council staff to increase our already high Council Tax collection rate.
“I would urge anyone who has fallen behind on Council Tax payments to use this freeze in rates to make repayments on that debt.
“Our local taxes team are always happy to discuss manageable payment options to make this easier.”
Money set aside for free bus travel anti-poverty initiatives
The final agreed budget fully rejects proposed cuts to the public transport purse.
And £450,000 of additional funding has been made available to make bus services free for all passengers on the first Saturday of every month and to undertake work to develop options for new models of public transport locally.
Reserved funding formerly used for pandemic recovery activity, is also being re-allocated to support anti-poverty initiatives, like The Big Hoose project and Buttons and Bows, which give families in need free essential household goods.