County agrees 1.5% council tax rise

Councillors in Denbighshire have approved an increase of 1.5% in council tax for the 2016/17 financial year – one of the lowest increases in the whole of Wales.

They agreed the level of tax as part of a discussion on the budget. 

It has already identified £5. 2 million savings for the 2016/17 financial year and no further cuts are required at this stage.

 

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance and Assets, said: “The Cabinet had recommended the 1.5% increase to Full Council and this has been ratified by councillors.

 

“The council is delighted to have kept the increase in council tax to this level.   The financial settlement announced by the Welsh Government in December 2015 was much better than expected and this has meant that we were in a position to keep the increase as low as we possibly could. 

 

“Residents in Denbighshire have also told us they want to see this happen and we are pleased to be in a position to respond positively to this.

 

Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire, said: “Now that we have agreed on the council tax increase, the next step is to formally approve the council tax levels for the coming year.

 

"The proposed budget takes into account an increase in funding to schools to meet the national level of protection and to set aside £480,000 to mitigate the risks to the delivery of this budget.

 

“The council has worked hard over recent years to be more efficient and effective in the way that it works, whilst identifying cuts that have the lowest possible effect on frontline services provided to the public."

 

The discussion to formalise council tax levels for 2016/17 will take place at the full council meeting being held at County Hall on Tuesday, February 26, at 10am.