Wolverhampton council tax rise and £13m cuts get go-ahead
A 3.99 per cent council tax hike as well as £13.5 million cuts to tips, car parks and roads as well as other services in Wolverhampton have been rubber-stamped by councillors.
At a vote on the budget proposals for 2017/18, 46 councillors voted in favour, while 10 abstained.
Leader Roger Lawrence said he believed it was a 'strong' budget.
MORE: Weekly Wolverhampton bin collections 'to go by end of the year'
MORE: 'What do we pay tax for?' Fortnightly bin collections in Wolverhampton opposed by 84 per cent
Leader of the opposition Wendy Thompson claimed the council had failed to make the most of business opportunities, people would struggle to cope with changes to bin collections and insisted the proposed 'super tip' would be too difficult for most of the city to access.
Councillor Andrew Reeve also insisted that fly-tipping would increase following the introduction of a charge for garden waste bins and fortnightly bin collections.
The council has been forced to make cuts of £175m over the past six years amid Government funding reductions. It is estimated savings of £54m still have to be found.
Other changes that will be made include slashing funding to WV Active, the council's leisure brand, by £500,000.
Councillor Lawrence said: "We are setting what we believe to be a reasonable council tax increase."
Councillor Thompson argued that the council tax hike is a higher percentage than the 1.8 per cent inflation rise.
