Council tax hike in Coventry approvedBills for the average Coventry resident will rise by an extra £60 from April after councillors rubber-stamped a council tax increase.
The proposed 4.9 per cent rise was approved by all but one councillor at a meeting of Coventry’s full council on Tuesday, February 23.
Residents in a Band A and B property – the most common in Coventry – will now pay an extra £60 for the year, equivalent to around £1.25 a week.
An adult social care precept of 3% is included in the rise, which council bosses say will generate £4.3 million to help meet rising social care costs.
Only Independent Cllr Glenn Williams rejected the council tax hike, calling instead for a rise to be frozen and funded by one-off council reserves.
He added: “I recognise this has been a year when councils across the country have had to deal with major financial pressures, but so have our residents.”
Cllr Brown said the one-year local government settlement the authority had been given was a “sticking plaster” which led to future funding gaps – £17.1m for 2022/23 rising to £23.6m the year after.
However the Conservative group argued the authority had been funded by government, citing £56m in grants during Covid-19 and some £160m government funding to capital projects.
A Conservative ‘alternative budget’ proposed more funding for Plas Dol-y-Moch, road safety schemes and potholes; while shaving off money from the likes of Trades Union funding and abolition of deputy cabinet member posts.
A further amendment also proposed £150,000 additional funding for Plas Dol-y-Moch, which is facing a council restructure as a result of £150,000 losses in 2020/21. However both proposals were voted down.
Opposition group leader Cllr Gary Ridley said: “This is about providing a solid alternative to the people of Coventry. We would tackle that vested interest, divert money away from the Trade Unions and member’s allowances and put it onto the front line where it could do more good than it currently does.”