A 1% council tax rise and the freezing of some fees and charges in Rhondda Cynon Taf have been approved.
The budget proposals for 2022-23 were approved by full council at a meeting on Wednesday, March 9.
The provisional funding settlement from Welsh Government includes an 8.4% increase for RCT which was confirmed in the final settlement on March 1 and includes an extra £8,000 compared to the provisional settlement.
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The council report said reducing the level of council tax increase to 1% from the 2.65% previously modelled would increase the budget gap by £1.55m.
This council tax increase will see a 20p per week rise for a person living in a Band A property and 30p per week for a person living in a Band D property with 42% of properties in Rhondda Cynon Taf being in Band A, according to the report
The RCT Council revenue budget for day to day spending in 2022/2023 is set to be worth £566.79m.
On schools, the report said the schools budget (ISB) will increase by £11.2m from £163.8m to £175m, which represents an increase of 6.8%.
In terms of efficiency cuts, the council said it has identified £4.9m worth for next year without adversely impacting on front-line services although the report said this is getting more difficult year on year.
Fees and charges will see a general increase of 2.5% with the council absorbing the implications of not applying an uplift in line with inflation.
But some fees and charges will be frozen, including leisure centre membership, meals on wheels and day centre meals, school meals, car park charges, summer and winter playing fees for sports clubs, 3G pitch hire, licences for taxis, pest control, Pontypridd Lido and Rhondda Heritage Park, costing the council £45,000
Some of the main areas where the council is planning to spend next year include an extra £100,000 for the business rates relief scheme, £500,000 towards climate change and carbon reduction, £200,000 for public health and protection services and £1.5m towards sustainable social services
They also include £550,000 towards the £10 an hour minimum wage, £1m towards funding for investment, £750,000 towards youth services and £118,000 for the staff car mileage rate.
The remaining budget gap of £229,000 increases to £963,000 when taking these commitments into account and the extra £8,000 from the final settlement.
This budget gap will be dealt with by using funds from the transitional funding reserve.
Councillor Andrew Morgan, the Labour leader of the council, said: “We’ve tried to balance it with freezing as many service charges as possible. We can’t always freeze everything.”
He said he doesn’t think putting council tax up by more than 1% this year is suitable with the cost of living crisis.
Cllr Morgan said there is no hardship fund going forward so any additional pressures from Covid they have to accept and deal with themselves.
He said: “We’ve lost millions and millions of pounds in lost income.”
He added that income levels will be lower in the coming months than they were before the pandemic.
He said “it is a difficult balancing act” trying to keep the council tax rise down and freezing as many charges as possible but he said the 2.5% increase for most fees is well below inflation.
“I think we’ve struck a right balance here.”
He said: “I think the budget we are proposing is one that’s well supported by the public.”
He said the funding from Welsh Government is welcome because he doesn’t think the pressure on service has ever been greater than what it is right now.
Councillor Pauline Jarman, leader of the Plaid Cymru group, said they must all be pleased that the Welsh Government settlement is as generous as it is.
She said this was thanks mainly to the fact that they had to enter into a participation agreement with Plaid Cymru to ensure the overall budget was passed.
She said: “Let’s rejoice in the fact that Plaid Cymru’s co-operation with the Welsh Government has already made an impact on what matters most to the people we represent.”
She mentioned the £200m made available to councils for free school meals for all primary school children while extending it for those currently eligible over the holidays.
She said: “Feeding children is an imperative in a civilised society.”
Cllr Jarman also mentioned the provision of childcare for two year olds and the future proofing of individual school budgets.
She also highlighted that a free national care service will be researched which she said is “excellent news.”
She mentioned money for tackling flooding and a commission on an independent review of the section 19 and Natural Resources Wales flood reports.
She said: “Plaid Cymru played a significant role in securing extra investment for our children, our elderly and our environment.”
She said they support the budget to reinforce their commitment to always act in the wider interest of the public and hopefully play their part in raising aspiration and eliminating child and pensioner poverty.
Councillor Lewis Hooper, the leader of the Conservative group, said there are several elements of the budget to be welcomed like the school funding position, some of the freezes on fees and the pay settlement for some of the lowest paid council staff.
But he said: “However the reason why the Conservative group will be unable to support the budget this evening and will have to abstain is something I’ve raised on several occasions previously and that’s the concern regarding the increasing burden of debt that this authority is accumulating.”
He said a key priority of the next council must be reviewing the levels of debt being accrued.
“We cannot be having a budget settlement as favourable as we have had this year continuing without seemingly to focus or have any true understanding of the impacts the debt burden on this local authority is going to have.”
Councillor Mike Powell, leader of the independent group, said: “There are many communities who feel throughout the borough that they don’t get as equal a level of provision as certain areas, as other places do.”
But he said it would be churlish not to support the budget but said he looks forward to continuing the debate on how the budget is spent.
Labour, Plaid Cymru and the independent group voted in favour of it and the Conservatives abstained with the unallocated independent member Councillor Stephen Belzak abstaining because he didn’t hear the whole debate.
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