Welshpool Town Council reckoned with a sharp rise in the Town Council budget and precept for 2023/2024 at their most recent meeting.

Facing a 17 percent rise in the town council’s budget and precept, meaning for an average Band D property, Welshpool Town Council will be asking for £250.64 in council tax for the next financial year. That means residents will be paying 61.5p a week for town council services.

The figure was initially set at a 29 percent raise, but cuts, reserves and savings were used to reduce the figure to the estimate presented to councillors at the meeting.

Town Clerk Anne Wilson said: “I can assure you we have been through this several times to look at things we can save, there is nothing else I can see where we can cut back on, it is agreed we will apply for grants at every possible opportunity like the skate park and restoration of this building.

Cllr Richard Church labelled it “still a large council tax increase, and it’s a headline that will not be welcomed”.

Some councillors went further than showing concern and outright objected to the rise in council tax.

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Cllr Estelle Bleivas said: “It’s admirable to get the budget down but I cannot vote for that increase. I don’t know what else you can cut but I simply cannot vote for this.

“I’d sooner see people able to pick something up from the supermarket to buy an essential item that might miss out on by squeezing extra money into council tax.”

Cllr Pritchard suggested capping the budget increase to five percent, but other councillors stated that this would create a reduction in the services the town council would be able to offer.

Cllr Ben Gwalchmai said: “With inflation across the UK, if we were to only give our budget a certain increase we’d then be looking at a real terms cut. Then we’d have to look at cutting serious services the community rely on and risk not fulfilling our duties to the community.

“If we were to not set this budget we’d be looking at bigger cuts, which would get bigger the more we put off proposing an increase.”

Cllr Geoffrey Lanagan was critical of the UK Government, saying that decisions higher up had put town councils in a difficult position.

He said: “If the central government hadn’t cut so much, if more money was available to Welsh Government and county councils, we wouldn’t be in this position.

“The central government has neglected its ability to provide sufficient funds so we are struggling to provide the proper services for the right cost.”

The council voted in favour of approving the budget and precept, while agreeing to impress upon the public that they will look for grants, cuts and potential savings to help alleviate costs.