SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is spending £20 million of its reserves to balance the books, as pressure on local services continues to build.
Changes to how business rates are collected have left the council £16m worse off this year, councillors heard as they met to approve bills on February 11.
The council will spend extra money on social care, equalities work, community cohesion, schools and other services.
Council leader Maggie Tyrrell (Lib Dem, Thornbury), said: “Our costs are increasing faster than inflation, faster than government funding, and faster than it’s reasonable or sustainable to raise council tax.
“Although this is a very tight budget, we’re pleased to invest in areas of great importance to us.”
There is rising demand for spending on care for elderly and disabled people and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, and an increase in costs to maintain roads, while extreme weather is making potholes worse.
Co-leader Ian Boulton (Lab, Staple Hill & Mangotsfield), said: “At a time when many councils across the country are struggling to balance their books, we have delivered a responsible and balanced budget that protects the services residents rely on.”
The budget includes a 19% increase in garden waste collection fees, from £63 to £75, and the introduction of three-weekly black bin collections.
Opposition Conservative leader Liz Brennan (Frenchay & Downend) accused the ruling coalition of passing a budget aimed at “short term survival” after her group’s proposals to spend more on fixing potholes and cut spending on council political assistants and communications staff were voted down.
Meeting report by Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service