4.98 per cent council tax increase proposed – as Town Hall jobs go

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MEMBERS of Warrington Borough Council’s cabinet will be recommended next Monday (February 10) to propose a Council Tax increase of 4.98 per cent for the coming year – meaning the council tax on the average Band D property would be £1,867.79.

The council’s budget would then be referred to a meeting of the full council on February 24 for approval.
Cabinet members will be asked to propose that budgeted net expenditure for the year be set at £208,045 – net of an indicative Dedicated Schools Grant of £262.879.

But finance chiefs point out that currently it is not known when the 2025-26 Financial Local Government Settlement announcement will be available.
It is also noted that the 2025-26 precepts for parish councils and the police and fire authorities are not as yet confirmed.
In a report to the cabinet, Cllr Denis Matthews, cabinet member for finance, assets and investments, said the process of setting a budget for 2025-26 and beyond had been more difficult than in any year in recent memory.
He referred to the longer-term effects of the COVID pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and inflation.
“At the time of writing this report there is a forecast need for the council to use around £20 million of reserves to address the 2024-25 budget overspend.”
However, this mirrored the national picture of most councils and it had showed how robust the council’s existing budget strategy had been – and the importance of maintaining robust reserves.
“However, we can’t live off reserves forever.”

Cllr Matthews referred to a corporate voluntary redundancy exercise which the council had been undertaking since the autumn which had resulted in the approval of around 40 voluntary redundancies where the post would not be replaced and where a financial saving would be made.
It was also likely there would a small number of compulsory redundancies. The council would work closely with staff and trade unions to reduce the need for compulsory redundancies.


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