Nottingham City Council is planning to raise taxes and bring in charges for free bus services as it cuts £27 million from its budget.
The authority says it needs to make the savings for the coming financial year in order to continue to provide vital services.
It comes against a backdrop of falling Government grants to local authorities and increased demand for adult social care.
The measures planned for next year include;
- Raising Council Tax by 4.95 per cent
- Cutting 63 council jobs
- Introducing a charge for free Centrelink and Medilink bus services
- Possibly increasing on-street parking fees
Among other changes, the council says the cuts will mean it can carry on providing vital children’s centres, funding crime prevention and paying for adult and child social care.
Members of the Labour-led authority’s executive board will meet on Tuesday to discuss the proposals.
Senior councillors pointed the finger at the Conservative Government, saying Nottingham is losing out to more affluent areas when it comes to funding.
The Government has reduced the amount of grant it gives the council by £130 million since 2010.
It is also now allowing local councils to raise to council tax by an extra three per cent to help pay for adult social care – which accounts for a third of the council’s spending.
The council’s deputy leader Graham Chapman said: “This Government is placing the burden on the residents and businesses of Nottingham to pick up the bill for local services, while taking away more funds from Nottingham than many richer parts of the country.
“Nowhere is this more unfair or more serious than in the adult social care funding crisis, for which the Government is shirking its responsibility.
“Instead of providing a centrally-funded, coordinated solution to help the elderly and prevent bed blocking in the NHS, we need a national solution, this proposal is short term and simply ‘dumping’ costs onto local council taxpayers.”
The Government says the extra three per cent rise in council tax will be equivalent to just £1 a month on an average Band D household bill.
Communities secretary Sajid Javid also said the changes were designed to make councils become more efficient while still providing essential services.
He said: “This government is committed to making sure this is a country that works for everyone and that our most vulnerable in society get the support they need.
“The additional funding and flexibility will mean councils will have £7.6 billion in total dedicated social care funding over the four years of the settlement to do just that.”
If approved, city residents will see their council tax bills go up from April next year.
Residents can give their views on the budget proposals through the Your City Your Services process, and at consultation meetings in January.
The council says people can comment on the plans until just before the budget is approved at a full council meeting on Monday, March 6 2017.
