Falkirk's council tax could rise by seven per cent warning

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 £1275, which is £72 lower than the Scottish average.

If the seven per cent increase is accepted, the annual band D charge would increase by £89.22 to £1363.82.

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 eligible for free transport.

Around 500 pupils could lose their entitlement to free school meals if the council changes the criteria to strictly align with Scottish Government guidelines.

And around 150 pupils at Carrongrange HS, Windsor Park and the Inclusion and Wellbeing Service would be required to pay for lunches if the budget is passed.

Other proposed cuts would mean a reduction in the number of Christmas trees the council pays for and getting rid of faulty festive lights rather than repairing them.

Falkirk town centre would also see funding removed for the Safe Base service and the council would no longer employ a handyman to support town centre businesses.

One of the major differences this year is that there are few surprises.

Some of the unpopular decisions have already been taken such as a review of waste services – including charging for brown bin collections – that is expected to save £750,000 every year.

Many of the major budget savings, however, will come through the council reducing staff and an ongoing recruitment freeze is having an impact on costs.

At the moment, they believe staff numbers can be reduced through voluntary redundancy or not filling posts that are currently vacant.

Ongoing savings mean there will be some cash in the reserves that can be used to fund changes in the long term but, as ever, they are being urged not to use reserves to pay for services.

The budget meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 1, at 10 am and will be livestreamed.