Residents in Merthyr Tydfil will see a 1% increase in their council tax bills next year after councillors approved the proposal.
On Wednesday, March 2, both cabinet and full council approved the proposals for 2022/2023 which will see an increase of 33 pence a week, £17.29 for the year for a band D property in what they pay to Merthyr Tydfil Council.
There were 23 votes in favour of the proposal, one unable to vote and seven against, which included councillors Julian Amos, Andrew Barry, Jeremy Davies, David Hughes, Kevin O’Neill, Declan Sammon and John Thomas.
As 84% of properties within Merthyr Tydfil are valued at bands A to C – the increase for a significant proportion of council tax payers will be between 22 pence per week (£11.53 for the year) and 30 pence per week (£15.37) for the year on the Merthyr Tydfil Council charge alone.
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The 1% council tax increase for Merthyr does not include the band D precepts for South Wales Police, which is worth £302.11, and for Trelewis/Bedlinog Community Council, which is worth £23.95.
The council tax reduction scheme for 2022/23 will provide council tax payment support to around 6,000 residents, the council said.
Including the police precept, those not in the Trelewis/Bedlinog Community Council area and living in band A properties will pay a total of £1,365.59.
Band B will pay £1,593.18, band C will pay £1,820.78 and band D will pay £2,048.38.
Band E will pay £2,503.58, band F £2,958.77 and G 3,413.97.
Finally, band H will pay £4,096.76 and band I £4,779.55.
For those living in the Trelewis/Bedlinog Community Council area, who pay a precept to the community council and the police precept, they will pay a total of £1,381.55 in band A, £1,611.81 in band B and £1,842.07 in band C.
Band D properties in this area will pay £2,072.33, band E will pay £2,532.85 and band F will pay £2,993.37.
Band G will pay £3,453.88, band H will pay £4,144.66 and band I will pay £4,835.44.
he revenue budget for day to day spending next year was agreed at £143.07m for 2022/23 and the capital programme for lTonger term infrastructure spending is worth £30.82m for 2022/23 and £72.87m for 2022/23 to 2025/26.
The approved budget includes the use of £703,000 of the 2021-22 projected revenue surplus to plug the remaining budget gap and additional temporary accommodation homelessness provision costs of £357,000.
The previous estimated budget deficit of £5.26m has been closed thanks to a £5.36m impact from the settlement, £4m in budgeted demands, £1.85m from the hardship fund, £1.43m in efficiencies and the £703,000 from the revenue surplus.
This is despite £5.23m in additional demands, a £1.43m pay award projection, £782,000 towards the real living wage for care workers and the £641,000 cost of the decision to increase council tax by 1%
Cllr Davies, independent member, said he would like to see no increase.
Councillor Darren Roberts, leader of the Labour group, said: “In an ideal world we should be looking at a 0% increase with the cost of living crisis and everything.
“But when we were looking at the 3.55%, it’s fair to say that a drop of 2.55% down to the 1% is a significant decrease.”
He said the statistics show the majority of properties in Merthyr Tydfil are band A and B so the increase will be 22 or 26p a week.
He said he understands it all adds up when everything is going up but said what they can’t ignore is the police and crime precept that’s going up.
He said: “We should really be lobbying them because are we really getting value for money with our policing at the moment?
“We still need to deliver services for the residents of the county borough and I think that the £251,000 that we’re getting from this 1% can be reinvested into services.”
He said he thinks 1% is fair as some councils are putting theirs up by 4% or 5% which he thinks is unfair.
Cllr O’Neill, leader of the Community Independents, said when he was leader of the council it was always the policy to listen to the people but also to be financially prudent.
He said Cllr Barry had been a consistent force in the council’s finances up until December 2021, saying he’s “revolutionised” where they are in finances.
He said: “We’re presently in the best place we’ve been for decades. We’ve had a surplus in 2019.”
He said they (the Community Independents) made it known in January that they would likely be supporting a 0% increase, Labour followed with 1% and the independent leadership followed Labour again.
He said the independents were being “propped up” by Labour again.
He said with interest rates, the cost of living and £700 extra on fuel bills they are now talking about £270,000 for their budget.
He said “you can’t have it both ways” by saying it’s not a lot of money and then saying what a terrible time we are in for cost of living.
He said: “The brand of the independents is damaged with the consistency of failing to stick with our guiding principles.”
He said: “Listen to the people, make the right decision, 0% at this time more than ever it is a no brainer that’s what we should be doing.”
Cllr Amos, Park and Dowlais Independent Group, said in the past successive administrations have struggled to balance the books by a combination of cuts and tax increases which most of the public don’t understand, resent or both.
He said: “Quite understandably they say why should we pay more money for fewer services.”
He said he can’t support a penny of increase in council tax and said a 0% increase would send out a message that they’re a “caring council, we listen to them, we recognise what they’re going through.”
The leader of the council and leading independent group Councillor Lisa Mytton said they’ve never denounced anything Cllr Barry has done and in the last four years of working with him he did a really good job.
She said: “We are reducing it from 3.5% because we are listening to the residents so if members took the time to actually read the consultation feedback residents want services to continue, services can only continue if we are financially prudent.
“By being financially prudent, listening to the residents, doing it as low as we possibly can by 1% then we are able to continue to provide services.
“We are still one of the lowest councils for percentage council tax increase out of the 22 this evening.”
She denied that they chose 1% just because Labour proposed it and said it’s a case of having “open, professional communication.”
“What we did is we listened to our officers. What we did is we listened to the residents.”
She added: “The independent brand is not dented at all. We are there for the people of Merthyr Tydfil.”
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