Walsall Council preparing to raise council tax and cut services next year

However, Walsall Council leader Mike Bird is refusing to increase the council tax by an optional two per cent for adult social care as the "council will not do the Government's dirty work for them".

Council chiefs outlined next year's planned budget today which included £16.3 million cuts and £1.2 million of "proposed efficiencies" over 2023/2024.

These include the outsourcing of the mobile library service, ending the Citizens Advice Bureau Grant, outsourcing the Outdoor Pursuits Service, reducing grass cutting and rewilding urban grassed areas.

Charges for bulky waste collection will rise from £10 to £30 for up to three items, £50 for four to six items and £70 for seven to nine items.

The council also aims to review the use of its buildings, staffing costs, street lighting costs and the amount of money spent on foster carers.

Council leader Mike Bird told the Express & Star: "People will see their council tax rise by 2.9 per cent but I hope they take into account we are not increasing it by five per cent because we do not think that is the right thing to do.

"I hope people realise we have taken into account that we know they are struggling at the moment. Passing on a further two per cent rise would be doing the Government's dirty work for them."

He added: "We have to look at the services we provide, there are those services we have to provide by law and they are our priority, there are services which we have provided which people liked but we did not have to, it is about looking at those again."

He added: “In what has been a particularly challenging year, Walsall Council’s priority is to assist with the struggle that so many families are facing whilst delivering a balanced budget for 2023/24.

"Alongside post COVID-19 recovery and increases in demand on many of our services, we’ve experienced the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation and energy bills. We know that many of our residents are finding it hard, so our proposals have taken this into account, and we have tried to keep the council tax increase as low as possible."

A public consultation on the budget plans begins on Thursday, December 15 and will last a month, Walsall residents can find out more at www.walsall.gov.uk/budgethaveyoursay.

Councillor Bird added: “The Council exists to serve the people and communities of Walsall, by representing and working with them to protect and improve the quality of life for all, particularly the most vulnerable. If you live, work, study, visit or do business in the Borough, please have your say in this consultation as we want to hear your views on this draft budget.”

The revised council tax amount is £5.44 per day which is 16p per day more expensive than this year. This makes the total annual Band D council tax £1,985.48 which is an overall increase of £58.40 compared to this year.

Deputy leader Councillor Adrian Andrew said: "This is not like the cuts we had in austerity, in the budget there is a lot of investment. Hopefully local residents will not notice the changes to our services included in this budget."