Bolton Council has approved its budget for 2024/25, striking a balance between protecting services while keeping council tax increases to a minimum.
Cuts to library services of £103k were saved following an amendment proposed at last night’s meeting of the full council.
The proposed cut is one of several that will instead be funded by the return of £1.2m in reserves from the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.
Members agreed plans to raise general council tax by 2.99%.
This is in addition to a 2% increase in the Adult Social Care Precept, which raises ringfenced funding for vital frontline services for the most vulnerable.
Under government rules, local authorities can raise council tax by 4.99% without the need for a referendum.
The changes equate to an extra £1.08 a week for Band A properties, which make up over 40% of Bolton’s total tax base.
The government’s recent Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement left the council with a further budget shortfall of £2.5m.
However, it is expected that this will be offset by better-than-expected income from business rates.
Meanwhile, a proposed cut to the Local Welfare Provision has been removed from the final agreement and will instead be funded from a contingency budget.
The move came after residents raised concerns in the recent budget consultation, as well as the news that the council is unlikely to receive Household Support funding from the government for 2024/2025.
The changes meant that the council’s target for cuts – originally pegged at £9.1m – was initially revised down to £8.6m.
Following the removal of cuts to library services, the target for cuts is now £8.5m.
A public consultation on the proposals ran from December 5 last year to January 9 and received more than 600 responses.
Over three-quarters of people said they recognised that budget cuts needed to be made.
Bolton Council Leader, Cllr Nick Peel, said:
“In these times of rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, people need support from the council more than ever.
“The last thing we want to do is add to the pressure on residents by increasing council tax more than is absolutely necessary.
“But services come with a cost and sadly the government’s support for councils is not keeping pace with demand.
“That means that setting the council’s budget is a delicate balance between finding the money for vital frontline services and investment, while keeping council tax as low as possible.”
Changes to council tax in Bolton are in addition to any changes made by the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
For 2024/25 the Mayoral General Precept, which includes fire services, will increase by £5 (4.63%).
The Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept will increase by £13 (5.34%).
Further consultation will be carried out as appropriate on individual cuts options as these are brought forward over the coming months.