Dudley Council budget set to be approved
It comes as it's trying to plug a 5 million gap.
Last updated 4th Mar 2024
Dudley Council's set to sign off it's budget later - but says it's still at risk of having to declare itself effectively bankrupt if there are any big unexpected bills.
The authority's managed to find 15 million pounds of savings - but is having to plug a 5 million gap with reserves.
If approved today - council tax will rise by almost 5 percent from April.
It comes as the council faces rising costs, cuts in grants from government and the council’s long-term policy of low tax and low reserves.
Last month the Local Government Association said: “This is the sixth one-year settlement in a row for councils which continues to hamper financial planning and their financial sustainability.”
Last autumn the authority faced unexpected extra costs of around £7m in adult social care and another £5m in children’s services which added pressure to its budget.
That meant that at the end of the current financial year the council will need to take an extra £9m from its general reserves to balance the books.
Following an intervention by external auditors in February, the authority allocated £3.3m to a contingency fund which will be used if there are unexpected financial pressures.
In recent years, Dudley Council has been a low council tax authority, on average ten percent less than similar authorities.
If the budget is approved, Dudley’s council tax will be set at £1,937.36 for a Band D property including £215.55 for the police and £75.20 for the fire service.