AT the second time of asking and a fortnight late, Powys County Council has finally set its budget - meaning the average bill payer will face a 9.5% hike in their council tax.

Since the budget was rejected on February 21 some concessions have been made following discussion between all the group leaders.

These include planned libraries savings of £200,000 being dropped; the establishment of a new £100,000 Community Enablement Fund; a reduction in planned £50,000 sports development savings and the cost of school meals rising by 15p rather than 20p.

These and other changes will be funded by the council not paying £500,000 into its reserves.

There was also one further amendment passed - to use the remaining £90,000 of the £500,000 helping organisations that were facing cuts to grant funding.

But there will still be nearly £12 million worth of cuts across the council.

Liberal Democrat and Green group leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Glasbury) thought it was regrettable that councillors had not been given another opportunity to discuss alternatives, such as selling assets to be used as money for “transformation” projects.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “We should not forget how we got here, because next year we can’t come back and say to the people of Powys.

“Sorry we’ll have to put the Council Tax again by a record amount, and by the way we’re withdrawing the funding for services.

“The message has to go out that the services have to live within the money they receive.”

Finance portfolio holder Cllr Aled Davies (Consevative – Llanrahedr-ym-Mochnant) said: “We are in the hands of Welsh Government to a certain extent, as we don’t know what their level of funding for local authorities will be.

“We hope that we won’t be at the bottom of the pile next year.”

Cllr David Selby (Liberal Democrat – Newtown Central) said: “My ward is not typical of Powys, it’s an urban area with mainly social housing, below average income and greater demands on certain services.

“Now what are we planning for them?

“We have above inflation rent rises, a 9.5 per cent council tax rise which will be a lot more when we take into account all the precepts and cuts to vital services.

“It does not take a genius to work out that the costs are in danger of leaving people, needing the very services that are being cut.”

Cllr Aled Davies replied that this was not just a budget of cuts but also pointed to significant investment: £1 million to schools, extra money for Children’s Services and in the Newtown schools.

Gwilym Williams (Conservative – Disserth and Trecoed) believed that “things have to change” and that the formation of an extra scrutiny committee that can look at finances and not just service delivery would help.

He also pointed to the number of new senior officers, who could provide fresh ideas and momentum.

Cllr WillIams said that the extra funding from Westminster Government to the Welsh Government was mostly been invested in health rather than councils.

Cllr Williams said: “We need to look at the formula, and work together to get it changed.”

Cllr Williams suggested working through the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) or other rural authorities.

The seven separate elements were voted upon.

The actual council tax rise was voted through by 33 votes for, 25 against and three abstentions.

This means that the bill for a Band D house will go up by £9.41 and does not include community/town council or Dyfed-Powys Police precepts that are set independently and added on to the bill.