Scottish Borders Council aims to keep council tax 'as low as possible next year'
Scottish Borders Council says its aim is to keep council tax as low as it can next year, while protecting the services people rely on most.
A five per cent increase has been pencilled in, following an eight-and-a-half per cent rise this year - or an extra £5.99 a month for a Band C property.
The local authority is forecasting a £1.8 million overspend, despite improving its financial position by £1 million since June.
The local authority's finance executive heard on Tuesday that more than three-quarters of this year's planned savings have now been delivered on a permanent basis, compared with 40 per cent at the same point last year.
Councillor Leagh Douglas, SBC's Executive Member for Finance, is welcoming the progress.
She said: "The biggest pressure is the cost of placements for children and young people who need specialist support outside the Borders.
"Where it's right for the child, we want to be able to offer the care and education they need closer to home.
"That takes early support, specialist staff and suitable places here in the Borders.
"The new children's home at Lowood is part of that work and is due for completion in 2028, so we absolutely welcome and look forward to that."
But she added: "In the meantime, we need to continue to look to see if there's more we can do to explore what support and provisions we make and put in place sooner."
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The Selkirkshire councillor revealed the cost of temporary accommodation is another growing pressure, with demand running higher than anticipated.
"A shortage of suitable homes for people to move into means we are relying more on hotels and bed and breakfasts," she said.
"That adds to the cost and, for the people affected, it does mean more uncertainty about when they'll have somewhere settled to live."
Earlier this year, we revealed the shortage meant some homeless people were having to move over the border to Carlisle to secure temporary accommodation.
Now, more than £2 million raised through second homes council tax is being earmarked for future investment in affordable housing.
The council is also reviewing vacancies as part of its efforts to close the current budget gap.
Councillor Douglas said: "As we work towards February, the aim is to keep council tax as low as we can whilst protecting the services that people rely on most."
Meanwhile, it's emerged more than £200,000 in unpaid council tax has been written off by Scottish Borders Council during the first six months of the current financial year.
That's almost four times the amount written off during the same period last year.
A report presented to councillors revealed more than £70,000 of the debt was owed by people who had died.
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