South Staffordshire Council tax set to go up by £5
South Staffordshire residents are set to see the tax they pay for district council services such as bin collections go up by around £5 in April.
District authorities in England are able to increase their council tax by up to three per cent or £5 for the year without triggering a referendum.
The proposed increase in South Staffordshire Council’s tax for 2024/25 would mean a bill of £140.34 for Band D households for the year.
The rise was backed by cabinet members at a meeting on Tuesday as part of the council’s latest Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and 2024/25 budget and will now go forward to the full council for approval at a meeting later this month.
A report to Tuesday’s cabinet meeting said: “The level of the council’s general fund and earmarked reserves means that it is possible to produce a balanced budget for the next three years in an uncertain operating environment. The council is alert to the risks in the current MTFS and will be considering alternative options if any of those risks do materialise.
“At the start of the financial year 2023/24 the council’s general fund reserves stood at £8.672m million. This is above the minimum level of £1.5m.
“However, this is being used across each year of the MTFS to balance the budget. This level of reserves allows the council time to plan for the potential impacts of funding reform in future years and is not deemed to be excessive.”
