Warwick residents to see council tax rise - town council says it will 'protect and improve services'

Warwick Town Council (WTC) is set to increase its portion of council tax, which it says will be used to protect and improve services in the town.

The council will be increasing the bill increase by £3.81 per year (8.5 per cent) for a council tax payer for 2024/25.

The Labour-led council also said that the increase will also support “an adequate level of reserves as part of a more robust, sustainable reserves policy”.

This comes a few weeks after Kenilworth Town Council also announced a council tax rise. Many town councils are expected to do the same across the country.

Warwick Town Council Labour group leader Dave Skinner said: “Unfortunately, the impact of inflation on council costs has been significantly higher than expected.

"The national salary award has also added to staff costs, plus insurance and building maintenance costs are increasing much faster than general inflation.

“While we very much regret the above inflation increase, we need to focus on maintaining and improving local services.

"One of our priorities, which is restoring the position of town centre and events manager, will benefit both residents and the local economy.

"We also need to make sure we have enough reserves to avoid the problems some other councils are facing.”

“To give some idea of scale, this increase will mean people are still paying less than £1 per week for town council services.

“I know that any increase puts more financial pressure on people, so this is not a decision we’ve taken lightly.

"However, we do think a small increase now is going to be good value for the local community, both in the short and longer term.”

Warwick Town Council is responsible for the promotion of the town, the management of some public properties and providing of somr services.

The council also organises events such as the Victorian evening, Warwick in Bloom, the Christmas lights and funds the Visitor Information Centre.

The council says it has budgeted to protect all existing services and add a part time town centre/events manager.

According to the council, a new manager will help revitalise the town centre and bring more events into Warwick for residents and help attract more tourists into the town.

The Labour administration also said it was essential to boost reserves to “adequately cover the maintenance and preservation of historic buildings they are responsible for”, such as the Courthouse.

According to the council, it has “updated WTC’s investment policy which will offset the burden on local taxpayers, WTC are now pro-actively managing council funds, ensuring they are secure and also now earn more interest for the benefit of residents”.

It added: “Previously the vast majority of the council’s reserves were just held in the local bank account earning very low interest rates.

"The Labour team, working with the town clerk, have now invested most of these funds in low-risk bonds earning over five per cent, ensuring that Warwick residents' funds are earning a good return on their money.”

Cllr Skinner added: “We’d like to thank the town clerk and finance officer for engaging constructively with us to implement these plans.”