Council tax is set to rise by five to 6.5 per cent in Dumfries and Galloway – depending on which political party’s budget plans are voted through.
The three main council groups submitted their proposals on Tuesday to try and manage a £12.9m budget shortfall.
It means that a council tax rise and some cost-cutting measures are inevitable as the local authority tries to balance the books.
Labour are proposing a five per cent, the Conservatives are suggesting six per cent and the SNP a six-and-a-half per cent hike.
Each one per cent rise generates just over £800,000 for the cash-strapped council, but will mean an average annual council tax increase for residents of £63 per year/£5.25 per month. This is for band D and at the lowest rate of five per cent tabled by the Labour group.
They were the first to release details of their budget plans to the public with Labour group leader, Archie Dryburgh, saying: “Labour councillors have refused to pass the burden of Tory austerity and SNP cuts on to the backs of residents in Dumfries and Galloway.
“Unlike other parties on the council we believe that the entire council can play a role in tackling poverty and that includes setting a council tax rate that ensures the council can deliver services for our most vulnerable residents and protect education spending, but does not add to the financial burdens facing families and households.
“That is why we will ask residents to pay £5.25 extra a month but no more.”
The Conservative group leader, Gail Macgregor, felt it was “incomprehensible” that Labour and SNP had drafted separate budget proposals after running the council jointly as a coalition with independent councillors for the past eight months.
She said: “Our group’s proposals would deliver an ambitious capital investment plan and we will develop plans to further invest in the regeneration of our town centres.
“Our draft budget will support all our communities across Dumfries and Galloway and seek to protect the most vulnerable.
“This is achievable through financial prudence, sensible choices and listening to what our voters have said.
“We have developed a three-year budget that will deliver stability whilst maintaining one of the lowest council tax rates in Scotland.”
The council leader and SNP group chief, Stephen Thompson, said that the cost of living pressures and improving the region’s roads have been the joint administration’s “highest priorities since May 2022”.
He added: “In order to protect services and jobs, we know we have to transform to be sustainable, but transformation takes time, so the budget is set to support our long-term council plan and relies on being properly funded. We will continue to lobby government for a better settlement.
“We also know that council tax in Dumfries and Galloway is seven percent below the national average and that’s been having an impact on our services.
While each political group has different ideas on the council tax rate, the finer details of their plans will not be properly understood until the budget setting meeting on Tuesday.
