Council will need to save millions
The message has been issued by the Council’s finance chief to prepare residents for more belt tightening ahead following a cut in funding from the Welsh Government in the next financial year.
It follows our story earlier this week that warned householders that we could be facing an unbelievable 5% rise to council tax next year.
Cllr Aled Davies, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “The announcement by the Welsh Government has done nothing to reduce our current financial pressures. The reduction in funding that Powys will receive combined with increasing demands on our services will increase the challenge to deliver sustainable services into the future.
“We have already identified savings of £8.3m that will have to be made in the next financial year but we will need to reconsider our plans now that we have received the provisional settlement alongside the indication given by the Welsh Labour Government that an even greater reduction in funding will be made in the following year.
“We will need time to analyse our provisional settlement to fully understand the implications it has for the council and our citizens.
“Inevitably, over the next four years of the council’s financial plan we will need to deal with further pressures. We will need to consider our diminishing Welsh Government settlement along with all our funding sources, including council tax, as we develop our financial strategy alongside mine and my Cabinet colleagues intense focus on delivering better outcomes for Powys.”
Another council tax hike will be hard to swallow for local householders who have suffered several years of inflation busting rises at the same time as receiving a drop in services provided by Powys.
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