A press release has been released this morning on behalf of the Conservative group in Powys County Council;
Powys Conservative County Councillors have long opposed rises in Council Tax but are now are faced with the very serious issue of having to reconsider their position about a rise.
Despite previously opposing increases every year, the current Powys Cabinet are asking Tory Councillors to go against long held views and increase Council Tax in 2018.
Cllr Aled Davies, Leader of the Powys Conservative Group and Cabinet Member for Finance said “The needs of Powys County Council are placing Tory Councillors in a very difficult position. As a group, we remain opposed to Council Tax rises but we must balance the budget to repair the broken services that we have inherited as well as address the costs that have arisen from the Children’s Services inspection. As a group we will have to re-examine our views for the good of the Council and our residents.”
The Conservative Group have never had such a significant presence in the Council with 20 County Councillors being elected in 2017 out of a total of 73 Powys Councillors. This has enabled 4 Tories to join the Cabinet with the remaining 6 Cabinet Members being from the new Independent Group.
Cllr Jonathan Wilkinson, Chairman of the Powys Conservative Group and Cabinet Member for Housing said, “The new Conservative Councillors elected in 2017 have given us the ability understand the issues within the Council for ourselves and not the messages that previous Cabinets and ruling groups chose to send out.” He added “Previous administrations have avoided making difficult decisions – this, compounded by the very serious problems in Adult and Children’s Services have meant that a significant rise in Council Tax was unavoidable. Sadly, the proposed 5% increase will be insufficient to plug the gap and the Council will need to identify where further significant savings can be made.”
The Council is facing a very difficult few years and Councillors will need to examine their principles as, despite the 5% increase, they will be asked to vote to support further cuts in services as the Council works to repair the £17million hole that is likely to exist in the 2018/19 financial year.
The Powys Conservative Group is pleased that the election success will enable them to have a hands-on approach to trying to repair the previous inefficiencies and policy decisions that previous Councils did not address. More stories