Dudley households facing rise in council tax bills
Households in Dudley face another rise in council tax after the local authority put plans in place.
In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, proposals were discussed to increase council tax by 4.49 per cent, with the final decision set to be taken to the full council early next year.
A scrutiny board and a public consultation will also give people the chance to have their say on the increase before the plans are taken to the vote in February 2019.
The plans follow on from the proposals initially penned by the Conservatives before being forced out of office and residents are facing this new increase after a 4.5 per cent rise in council tax earlier this year.
The new increase was fully supported by the Conservative opposition.
Council leader Pete Lowe said: "The one thing we've had with the rollercoaster of administration in Dudley, and I hope continues, is that cross-party co-operation in regards to finance."
Councillor Qadar Zada the cabinet member for finance and legal services said: "Dudley is a low taxing, low spending council and over the last eight years we've had to make some hard decisions.
"Next year will be the last of a four year funding settlement and from 2020 and 2021 onwards we face considerable uncertainty as the government is still working through the council's funding formula.
"This strategy report picks up from the report approved by the full council in February, but in the long-term it will not be sustainable unless we close the gap between income and expenditure.
"We'll be arguing for a fairer deal from the government for Dudley.
"We'll be challenging expenditure in all areas to try and find further efficiencies to protect services on the frontline.
"The report includes £6.1 million in savings and we aim to bring back further proposals in February that we're currently working through.
"The report includes £7.4 million to address spending pressures and it includes further investment and new investment to deal with flytipping and rubbish collection.
"There will be a council tax increase of 4.49 per cent next April, even with this increase, ours will be the lowest council tax in the West Midlands and one of the lowest in the country."
This comes after the leadership shake-up in the administration in September, that saw Labour take control of the council, installing Pete Lowe as the new leader.
