The price of Council Tax in Walsall will rise in April, increasing by just under 3%. The 2.99% council tax increase means that the average Band D Council Tax will see an increase of 16 pence per day.
Walsall Council’s budget for 2023-24 was approved at a meeting last week and includes:
- £26.8 million of demand, demographic and price changes within children’s and adult social care.
- £4.1 million of other services demand and cost pressures, including fall out of external funding, reductions in fees and charges income, and investment in IT infrastructure.
- £15.6 million of corporate provisions to cover the costs of pay awards and pension auto-enrolment, capital investment to fund regeneration projects within the Borough, cost of living inflationary costs such as energy, fuel and other supplies and services costs.
- £2.2 million of investment linked to delivering the Council’s Proud transformation activity.
The budget also confirms that £15.7 million of savings need to be made over the next year with the Council planning to reduce costs by improving various working methods and increasing use of technology and digitalisation.
Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council, said:
“This budget reflects the views of our residents and as a Council we have prioritised areas that reflect the current cost of living crisis. Our decision not to take the option to raise Council Tax by a further 2% has been approved and I hope this goes some way to help ease the struggles that our residents are facing.
At a time when the Council is facing increasing financial pressures, we’re seeing increasing demand for our services alongside rising inflation and energy bills, and only limited certainty over funding. While the financial situation remains challenging, we now have a balanced budget with significant levels of investment in services and regeneration within the Borough.
The recent award of £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund for the development of Willenhall Garden City is positive news and I look forward to seeing lots of exciting plans come to fruition.”