THE councillor in charge of the county’s finances has revealed how much he intends to raise council tax by.

Conservative Aled Davies, the council’s deputy leader, had previously warned the increase could be as much as 12%.

However a 9.5% increase is now being proposed. The cabinet member for finance in the Independent/Conservative administration that controls the council said: “I am recommending a budget strategy that seeks to support key services such as children and adult services as well as schools while doing all that we can to protect other services. However, the proposed council tax increase is 9.5%."

For a band D home a 9.5% increase will add around £9.41 a month to the council tax bill before charges for the police and town and community councils are added.

The proposal will be put to the cabinet, as part of the budget, when it meets on Tuesday, February 12. The cabinet’s agreed budget, including the council tax increase, must then be approved by the full council later in the month.

The budget plan will see the council introduce a smaller senior management structure and other reductions in the council’s running costs totalling £4.5m towards a budget savings requirement of £11.74m.

Cllr Davies has said the ruling coalition’s aim is to protect services "as much as possible" but said it has still had to make difficult decisions.

He again pointed out Powys council has continually been at the bottom of the Welsh local government funding pile. The Welsh Government has said funding is allocated based on a formula agreed with local government and has blamed the UK Conservative government’s austerity policies for an overall reduction in public spending.

Cllr Davies said: "“The council has been in the unenviable position of having the poorest settlement in Wales in nine out of the last 10 years, leaving the council in a difficult financial position. We have to fund key services and ensure we support children in need and vulnerable adults, whether in their own homes or in our care, and we have to invest in education.

“With schools and social care dominating our budget, the pressure on remaining services is greater than ever. This year’s budget has been the hardest faced by the council when seeking to balance service provision with resident’s ability to pay.

“Throughout the process our priority has been to maximise efficiencies, reducing our running costs where possible, this will mean a reduction in staff in many areas and pressure on others to reduce the level of provision.

“Along with the budget saving proposals we are recommending a 9.5 per cent increase in the level of council tax. This will add around £9.41 a month to the average band D council tax bill. The figure does not include increases in the Dyfed Powys Police charge or that from town and community councils.

“We know the increase will be a challenge for some but it is the minimum we could recommend to protect vital services."

Cuts previously outlined by the council have included slashing funding for arts and tourism support and making redundancies across the council as well as increasing revenue including by raising car parking charges.

The council also plans to cut £200,000 from the library service, by reviewing 10 smaller libraries. The amount matches the latest shortfall identified in the project to build a new library and refurbish the museum in Brecon to create a new centre, named Y Gaer, which is nearly £3m over its original £10m budget.

A plan to reduce street lighting has been put on hold for a year, for a full review to take place, while the council has said an email it issued to schools saying funding for breakfast clubs was being reduced was a misunderstanding and it has no such cuts planned.

For more on the council’s breakfast club situation and the overspend at Y Gaer see this week’s Brecon & Radnor Express – on sale now