Anglesey households face council tax hike of up to 5%

Residents on Anglesey could face a council tax hike of 5% if the recommendations of a key panel are implemented.
In a bid to stave off cuts to schools and to protect its “concerning” and depleted reserves, members of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee proposed a £142m budget.
With £101m made up of the annual settlement – or block grant – from Cardiff Bay, a tax rise of 4.64% would have ensured a balanced budget which includes extra funding for beleaguered services such as adult social care.
But concerns that any overspending would mean more pressure on the already low reserves, as well as fears that the council staff pay settlement could end up being more than the budgeted for 2%, committee members recommended a 5% hike which would mean an extra £455,000 held back for such risks.
If implemented, a 5% rise will see an average ‘Band D’ household pay an extra £62.46 a year or £1.20 a week.
Members were told that the Wales Audit Office was concerned about the authority’s level of reserves, which stands at between £4.5m and £5m, having been depleted following several years of overspending at a level of approximately £1m a year.
“If we continue eating into the reserves then our balances will have run out within four years which means that in the case of any emergency we would have less to fall back on,” 151 officer Marc Jones said.
“We have to bolster the reserves over a period of three or four years in order to get back to the 5% (of the council’s total budget) mark.
“If we put money away for such risks and it ends up not being used if the risks are not realised, it then creates a surplus that can go back into the reserves at the end of the year, which is a natural way of replenishing our balances.”
With the adult’s service expected to finish 2019/20 £1.2m in the red, an extra £980,000 is earmarked for the service in 2020/21.
The report went on to note, “The pay award for non teaching staff from April 2020 and for teaching staff from September 2020 is unknown at this point and, therefore, the general rate of inflation of 2% has been allowed for.
“This adds an additional £1.257m to the overall pay budget.”
Anglesey currently has the seventh lowest average council tax bills in Wales, with members told that such a hike “would not be out of step” compared to the rest of the nation.
Cllr Robin Williams stated his view that most people remain unaware that only roughly a third of the council’s income is derived from council tax, adding that there there are neighbouring councils have fared better in the settlement process than Ynys Môn.
He added further disappointment that the Welsh Government did not agree to a funding floor that would have resulted in no Welsh authority receiving a less than 4% settlement increase, with Anglesey having received 3.8%.
The findings of the committee will be considered by the full council when it discusses the budget on March 10.

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter