Councillors to meet to agree Calderdale budget with 5% council tax hike

Cabinet did not make any late changes to its proposals when it met at the start of the month.

If approved it will mean a Council Tax rise of around five per cent, a 1.99 per cent rise in general Council Tax and a further three per cent rise which the Government is allowing councils to levy specifically for adult social care.

For a resident at a Band A property – a majority of Calderdale’s properties are in this lowest band – that would mean a Council Tax increase of around £51.50 per year, if not subject to any discount.

Bills will be slightly higher than that as they also include, depending on where you live, precepts for town and parish councils and levies for police and fire services.

The budget covers issues such as changes to waste and recycling services, with the proposal being that the authority’s waste centres should close for two days a week on the quietest days – it was reported at Cabinet that other proposed changes, such as lengthening the gap between collections, had been dropped.

If approved the budget will incorporate savings and cuts set out in the council’s Future Council documents first tabled before Christmas.

These include closing some of Calderdale’s smaller libraries and some of its public buildings, including Clay House at Greetland, unless community groups will take over their running.

These have all proved controversial through the Full Council and Budget processes.

The meeting will be held virtually and streamed on the council’s YouTube channel from 6pm.