Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet is set to discuss the draft budget for the 2022/23 financial year.
At a meeting
on January 18, members will consider a plan to raise Council Tax by 2.95% ahead of the proposals being put to full council for final
approval at a meeting on January 25.
As part of the
budget process the council has received the draft budget settlement announced
by Welsh Government which suggests Denbighshire’s budget will increase by 9.2%
for the 2022/23 financial year, with increases of 3.3% and 2.2% the following
two years.
The increase
in funding comes with a number of new responsibilities the council will be
required to fund, including pay increases, ensuring the Real Living Wage for
social care workers and mitigation for the end of the Covid Hardship Fund.
The council
therefore has a funding gap of £2.623million to fill for the coming financial
year. Proposals to fill this gap include operational efficiencies amounting to
£634,000 and an increase in Council Tax of 2.95%.
Councillor
Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, said: “This budget comes after a
second difficult year dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which has put an
additional strain on resources for example, continued pressure on social services,
schools, children’s services and waste services.
“We have
previously made a firm commitment to Denbighshire residents to try and protect
services that the public value and expect as much as possible.
“The council
has a strong track record of doing this and we have tried to lead by example by
being as efficient and effective as possible, reducing our budgets and making
savings through better ways of working.
“Councillors
will continue to scrutinise the budget over the coming weeks before it is put
to Full Council for discussion and final approval on January 25.”
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