Council tax bill set to rocket
Thousands of Black Country taxpayers will have to fork out an inflation-busting council tax rise - while services are cut and jobs put at risk.Thousands of Black Country taxpayers will have to fork out an inflation-busting council tax rise - while services are cut and jobs put at risk. The hike in Dudley's council tax bill will dwarf the official 2.6 per cent rate of inflation, as finance bosses tighten the purse-strings in their bid to fill a £4.6 million black hole. Council leaders claimed today that the problem has emerged because of a multi-million pound gap between the money the local authority needs and the level of the revenue support grant from central government. Read the full story in the Express & Star
The hike in Dudley's council tax bill will dwarf the official 2.6 per cent rate of inflation, as finance bosses tighten the purse-strings in their bid to fill a £4.6 million black hole.
Council leaders claimed today that the problem has emerged because of a multi-million pound gap between the money the local authority needs and the level of the revenue support grant from central government.
And the rise was revealed as Walsall Council's finance chief warned of possible job cuts and the closure or reduction of services in the next few months to avoid a council tax rise.
Dudley Council leader Councillor David Caunt said he felt "awful" about the tax increase. "It will have to be less than five per cent, but how much less, goodness only knows. It makes me feel awful."
Meanwhile, in Walsall, bosses are considering axeing 63 jobs.