Scottish Borders Council reveals proposal for record tax hike
It could cost some residents more than £300 over four years...
Last updated 28th Feb 2024
Now, it's just approved a council tax freeze for the year ahead.
But, despite taking almost £10 million out of its reserves, it's emerged bills could increase by around £339 for a Band D property over the following four years, as Scottish Borders Council bids to balance the books.
It's proposing an indicative increase of 25 per cent between now and 2029, as part of its budget to be approved next week - starting with a record ten per cent hike next year.
Councillor Mark Rowley (pictured top) chairs the local authority's cross-party budget group. He told Greatest Hits Radio: "Council Tax only provides about 20 per cent of our income, but if the 80 per cent of the pie from Scottish Government keeps shrinking and has more and more ring-fenced obligations in it, we have nowhere to go other than to raise some of our own funding."
And he added: “After next year’s budget is set at the end of the month we need to have some very frank conversations with our residents about the next steps, including around reducing the property estate we operate from and what services may need to be sacrificed entirely or reduced to protect others.”
The council currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in mainland Scotland - but it also has some of the lowest wages.
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Councillor Euan Jardine, Leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: “Over the past 10 years, Scottish Borders Council has taken over £80million out of its base budget through savings whilst largely protecting public services and communities.
“Over the next 12 months we will be engaging with our residents and communities on the options available and this will inform whether we need to go down the route of a ten per cent Council Tax rise in 2025/26 or could reduce that a little.
"It really comes down to the trade-offs that Elected Members, communities and residents are prepared to make between the services they want and the contribution they are prepared to pay for that."
So what's included in the budget?
Highlights of the budget to be approved on Thursday (February 29th) include:
⦁ £300m capital investment over the next three years, including three new secondary schools and two new primary schools, as well as two care villages
⦁ £21.6m to be spent on roads and transport infrastructure over the next three years
⦁ Funding to maintain a Demand Responsive Travel scheme in Berwickshire, building on the Pingo trial
⦁ Investment into businesses infrastructure to support inward investment and job creation in Tweedbank and Duns
⦁ Increased funding to support Live Borders and other local sport and leisure trusts
⦁ Investment in upgrading the region's network of CCTV cameras
What's not included in the budget?
⦁ The two police Community Action Teams are being reduced to one - with the number of officers being reduced from 14 to 7.
⦁ No compulsory redundancies
It's claimed the views of 800 young people helped to shape the council's budget, with more than 2,000 in all responding to the local authority's online survey.
Councillor Robin Tatler, leader of the Independent group, said: “The response to this year’s budget and Council Plan survey has been great and very helpful in shaping the budget decisions. Putting in place some of the ideas that came forward for areas of investment, or the lowering of charges would be very welcome, but unfortunately the incredibly tough financial position we are facing means that is just not possible.
“In the future we will have to look very closely at maintaining those services we are required to provide and reviewing the provision of those we don’t have to and are not funded to provide.
“We will maintain our support for Live Borders and the delivery of sport, leisure and cultural services. We will also continue to help the most vulnerable in our communities.”
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