Greater Manchester borough to face one of country's biggest council tax rises
It comes amid fears of a huge blackhole in its budget
Residents in Trafford are being warned to brace themselves for a shock council tax increase of 7.49 per cent.
Town hall bosses have been given the go-ahead by the Government to raise the levy above the usual 4.99pc ceiling because it is facing a £12m hole in its budget for 2025/26.
Trafford, which has seen £300m cut from its budget over the last 14 years, appealed for ‘exceptional financial support’ (EFS)
Council tax makes up 60pc of the income to fund all the authority’s services. Meanwhile, there has also been an application for a capitalisation loan facility and the council expects to hear the outcome of this in the next few weeks.
Councillors in the controlling Labour group argue that even with the proposed increase, Trafford’s council tax Level at the Band D average will still be the second lowest in Greater Manchester.
They also believe many other local authorities across England are in a similar position and have asked for assistance from central government.
Council leader Coun Tom Ross said that in recent years Trafford has made tens of millions of pounds in savings while at the same time supporting a very significant increase in need for children’s services together with adult social care.
He said: “We have been facing significant ongoing financial challenges for several years. Historic funding deficits and increasing cost pressures and a rising need for services especially among children’s and adult social care, compounded by the many years of council tax freezes, mean it is becoming harder to deliver what our residents and businesses need while balancing our books.
“We are not alone in this, as a similar story is being repeated in other local authorities across the country.
“We have managed our finances well in recent years despite having a structural budget deficit. Since 2010, we have addressed budget gaps of over £300m.
“This year we must set one of our toughest ever budgets, with some difficult considerations and decisions to make.
“A recent independent review carried out by a team of financial experts found we have robust financial arrangements in place but that we have historic funding challenges that we must take decisive action to address.
“We understand the financial pressures that many of our residents are facing and we have not made the decision to seek to increase council tax lightly.
"However, we have no option if we are to get the council on a firmer financial footing, ensure we have a plan to rebuild our finances and to address the structural financial deficit.
“We are not complacent and will continue to shape a robust and sustainable financial plan for the Council to ensure that we address the deficit in our budget, tackle the need for change across local authority funding mechanisms, manage increasing demand for services and also address the many years of council tax freezes to continue to deliver services for everyone in our borough.”