Council tax in Moray will rise by 10%

Moray Council has agreed its budget for the coming year, confirming a 10% council tax hike.

This will see household bills across Moray increase by a minimum of £95 up to £351 this year.

Council house and garage rents have also increased by 6%.

Council groups have blamed decisions by Westminster and the Scottish Government for the requirement to increase costs to protect services.

Politics

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A nationwide freeze on the levy ends in April meaning local authorities can increase it by however much they like.

Council leaders have called today’s budget a “significant success” saying the increase means no council reserves is positive for the future.

A council tax hike is now confirmed, meaning the cost for an average band D property in moray will go up by £143.07 or £2.75 a week.

The council have also agreed indicative increases of another 10% and 6% in the coming years.

This means bills for band D could increase by an an estimated £400 by 2028.

Rent for council houses and council garages have also seen annual increases of 6% for the next three years.

According to previously reported figures, Deputy Council Leader Donald Gatt referred to the council tax level set at £1,135 in 2007/08.

He said that allowing for inflation this would be £1,879 today, a £305 difference to the current 10% council tax hike.

Council tax rates were frozen in Moray until 2016, and with 2016 inflation levels this would be council tax would be £1,527 today.

This means the newly set council tax levels are £47 above inflation rates from 2016.

Despite the council tax increases, the council have still had to find £2 million in savings to plug the remaining budget gap.

A number of services have been earmarked for cuts including in education, environment, housing and internal council services.

Two posts for improving services in schools will be removed.

SNP group leader Scott Lawrence blamed “15 years of Westminster austerity” and national insurance increases as some of the reasons for Moray Council’s budget pressures.

Labour group leader Sandy Keith said: “As a council, we have had to endure a level of funding from the SNP’s Scottish Government which is inadequate to provide the services the people of Moray want.”

He added that council tax itself is a “regressive and unfair tax” and said the Scottish Government have failed to reform it.

In reaction to the budget, leader of the Conservative group Kathleen Robertson said: “Whilst we are pleased to have been able to pass a balanced budget today with support from various parties and independents, we are of course not happy at the level of cuts Moray Council is forced to make year after year.”

“Repeated brutal cuts from the SNP government to council budgets have been tough enough to deal with, but that has now been compounded by the NI hikes in Labour’s Budget.

“This double whammy has meant that really difficult decisions had to be made.”

Labour group leader Sandy Keith conceded their amendment in favour of a £40k extra spend on improving rural roads.

The budget was then passed by 17 votes to 8 with one abstention.