Council tax help may face more pressure councillor warns
A Dudley Council's watchdog committee has been told a council tax help fund could face more pressure in coming years.
A meeting of the authority's Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Core Business) on June 25 was told by Dudley's Labour leader, Cllr Adam Aston, more people are likely to need help because they were unable to pay their bill.
Council tax in Dudley is set for the current financial year at £2,038.57 for a band D property valued between £68,001 and £88,000.
Cllr Aston said: 'There is a significant reduction for people who need help with their council tax, as more people struggle to pay their council tax, is that likely to present a problem for us going forward over the next year or two?
'I am aware there is a discretionary council tax relief fund available of £1m, it's very much a last resort for people who cannot pay their council tax
'Is that relief fund enough? Do we have the capacity to administer it if loads of people apply?'
The £1m set aside for the council tax relief fund is part of the authority's Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).
Finance officers told Cllr Aston the £1m was already part of earmarked reserves for the current financial year and the impact of the reduction scheme on council coffers is something they will monitor very closely in future years.
Conservative councillor Adam Davies also had a question on council tax.
He said: 'With the way the government has confirmed they will be issuing finance from central to local government, and the wide speculation they are expecting local authorities to increase council tax year on year by the maximum – is that what you allocated for the forecast in what we are looking at?'
The maximum increase councils are allowed to make each year to council tax is five percent.
Cllr Davies was told the maximum increase is the amount the authority's accountants applied in their forecasts for the next five years.
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