Householders across one part of Gwent are likely to see their total council tax bills rise by nearly £100 from April.
Final council tax bills, including charges added by Gwent Police and local town and community councils, have been approved by Torfaen Borough Council.
Its members approved a 3.95 per cent increase in council tax to raise £58.6 million towards its services while the figure charged by Gwent Police will rise by 6.95 per cent and the average increase in the precepts charged by the borough’s six town and community councils while increase by an average 10.34 per cent.
As a result, that would see the total bill for what is called a typical band D home jumping by £96.18 from last year to £2.155.68.
The police charge works out at £403.53, a £26.22 increase on last year for a band D home.
The final amount householders will be charged is likely to be less for those in homes below band D and more for higher value homes but there is variation across the borough due to the amounts charged by community councils.
Independent councillor for Cwmbran St Dials ward Elizabeth Haynes said she was unhappy with the proposed rise and said: “Asking for more council tax sits really uncomfortably with me.”
She described council tax as “one of the biggest bills” many households face and said: “The rise may look small on paper but to a family struggling it isn’t.”
The council’s Labour leader, Anthony Hunt, said the council tax relief scheme supports around 10,000 households and he encouraged anyone who may be struggling to contact it to ask about assistance.
The Panteg councillor however, defended the rise as he said while freezing council tax would be popular doing so would have the knock-on effect of reducing the amount of money available in subsequent years and said where councils have done that they have had to “cut services and then jack up council tax”.
The Labour councillor also refused to criticise a precept agreed by Cwmbran Community Council, with its element of band D bill rising to £56.77 this year.
Reform UK councillor for the town’s Llantarnam ward Alan Slade said it had a large amount in reserves asked if Cllr Hunt would “condemn” the rise but the leader replied: “I believe it’s for councils themselves to make choices with what they do with their council tax, so I’m not going to make comment on that.”
Council tax raises around 22 per cent of the council’s revenue, with the majority funded by the Welsh Government, and the authority’s budget for the upcoming year is £264m.
The budget also sets out a £73m capital budget, for large one off costs over the next five years.
Cllr Hunt said extra funding is being put into schools as well as “much-needed road resurfacing” and said schools and social care accounts for 70 per cent of the council’s spending.
The council is putting aside £6.4m for road resurfacing over the next four years.
Cllr Hunt also confirmed some redundancies would be made due to a loss of grant funding, and independent councillor Giles Davies was told he would receive a written response after asking for confirmation on the numbers losing their jobs.
Labour’s Panteg member Nathan Yeowell praised the pay rise for the lowest-paid council staff in the budget and funding support for school leavers and a council apprenticeship scheme.
In reply to Reform UK councillor David Thomas leader Cllr Hunt confirmed no cuts to services would be made if nationally agreed pay rises exceed the amount set aside as a contingency in the budget, and would be funded from reserves.
The budget passed though the four-member Reform UK group and four members of the Independent Group voted against it.