A BETTER financial settlement for Ceredigion from the Welsh Government along with a fresh grant is expected to see council tax bills in the county rising by less than five per cent this year, far below previous fears of a rise as high as nearly nine.
Last year, for the 2025-’26 budget, Ceredigion saw a council tax rise of 9.3 per cent.
While council tax makes up a proportion of the council’s annual revenue, a crucial area of funding is the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) rate from Welsh Government.
Ceredigion was to receive a 2.3 per cent increase on its settlement, some £3,388,000 for a total of £150,670,000, placing it at joint 13th of the 22 local authorities in Wales.
Following a later Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru agreement additional funding for local government was secured, giving Ceredigion additional funding.
Back in November, before the increased settlement was announced, Ceredigion Leader Cllr Bryan Davies said that early estimates indicated that an 8.9 per cent increase in council tax would be necessary, but an improved position of 6.9 per cent had been indicated as a result of a further modelling of service cost pressures and operational savings.
Following the improved settlement, members at the January meeting of Cabinet heard from Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement Services Cllr Gareth Davies a recommendation for a 4.75 per cent council tax increase as part of a draft budget requirement of £221.493m was being mooted.
That position has improved again, following financial support towards the Mid and West Wales Fire Service Levy, members of the February 3 meeting of the council’s corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee heard, the funding now dropping the expected council tax increase to 4.7 per cent, equivalent to an extra £7.39 per month for the average Band D property for the next financial year.
Members of the committee agreed to note the 4.7 per cent figure, with the final council tax recommendation being considered by Cabinet on February 10, the final decision on the budget being made by full council on March 2.
