Falkirk council tax could rise by seven per cent to help plug budget gap

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Falkirk's council tax could rise by seven per cent for residents, if councillors agree to the proposal next week.Falkirk Council will meet next Wednesday to set the budget for the year 2023 to 2024 and papers released online ahead of the meeting show a substantial increase would help balance the books.Falkirk currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in Scotland, with Band D properties being charged £1,275, which is £72 lower than the Scottish average. Read more: Falkirk council rents set to increase with steeper rises for future years If the seven per cent increase is accepted, the annual band D charge would increase by £89.22 to £1,363.82.As other councils are also increasing the tax, the Falkirk charge would remain below the Scottish average for the year ahead.With a minority SNP administration, there is no certainty that any of the budget proposals will be accepted - but councillors are legally bound to produce a budget that balances the books by March 11.Although there are still unknowns - in particular the cost of a pay rise for teachers - the current gap between income and expenditure for this year sits at £25.9 million.That budget gap assumes a council tax increase of three per cent, so any higher amount would help.However, council tax accounts for less than 20 per cent of the local authority income, so other savings will need to be looked at as well as some price rises for services, including crematorium and burial fees.Other options have been well-publicised, such as the closure of four high school swimming pools, which would save the council around £250,000 a year.Cuts are also hanging over school transport as the council hopes to save up to £625,000 by changing the distance at which pupils are