Moray Council intend to raise council tax by 10% this year as more budget plans are revealed.
If approved, bills would increase by £95-350 a year depending on council tax band.
The result of a public budget survey last year indicated a 9% rise would be acceptable.
The budget vote set for next week will propose another 10% rise next year and a further 6% rise in 2027.
How much would your bills go up?
The council tax on an average Band D property in Moray will face an annual increase of £143.07 to £1573.76.
This would be the equivalent of £2.75 a week.
If the subsequent 10% and 6% increases go ahead, the average Band D property could be paying an estimated £400 extra in council tax each year by 2028.
A full breakdown of council tax increases can be viewed on Moray Council’s website.
10% increase still won’t meet savings target
A minimum 7% increase was already planned, but the added hike would mean an extra £1.6 million for the council.
Budget documents state this “makes a significant contribution towards closing the remaining budget gap.”
However, despite the proposed increase Moray Council will still have £2 million in savings to find.
Savings to bridge the gap include recovering funding for the Integration Joint Board with the NHS, cuts to housing services and CCTV contracts.
What have council leaders said?
In advance of the budget, council leader Kathleen Robertson vowed Moray “will not be the first council in Scotland to go bankrupt.”
She added after years of council tax freezes, it would be “unrealistic” to assume council tax would not have to “go up by some degree.”
This is off the back of announcing £12.7 million budget gap for the council to fill over the next two years.
The council leader said: “There has to be a balance of being able to preserve services that people recognise and desire to give them an improvement in quality of life versus rising council tax to be able to do that.”
She added national insurance increases and lack of extra funding for teachers have also contributed towards a need to raise council tax.
However, she reiterated council leaders will continue to “compromise and collaborate” with other councillors to settle on a satisfactory budget.
Councillors will meet next week to raise or lower the level of council tax increase facing Moray.
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