By Elizabeth Kazibure, Divvya Bhaarkhavy Jayakumar & Veronica Harding
Sunderland City Council is proposing to raise council tax by four per cent from April 2016.
The graph below shows the the number of people in each Bands and the weekly increase.
It will be the first time the tax has increased since 2010. And it will mean an increase of 61p per week for the majority of households who are in Band A property and 91p for Band D.
However, it will be used to help support older and vulnerable people in care and own homes.
Coun Mel Speding, the Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Secretary, said: “The City Council has done its best to protect residents from the impact of the cuts since 2010.
“However, because of the sustained Government cuts and spending pressures, we now have to make very difficult decisions and raising council tax is one of those. This year alone we are facing cuts of £46m.”
Indications are that Sunderland’s council tax will again be the lowest in the Tyne and Wear area, as the majority of households in Sunderland are in tax bands A and B.
Council tax raises approximately 12 per cent of the council’s total budget and is anticipated to raise more than £83.3m in the next year.
Last month, Coun Speding warned people in Sunderland they would notice further changes to council services as they are reviewed or stopped.
The council has announced that for 2016/17, it is ending its free fortnightly garden waste composition collections and introducing a £25 annual charge.