Angus Council’s SNP administration is on a collision course with authority officials over the possible return of car parking charges to local towns and villages.
And as the council enters budget-setting week, the ruling group has also said it will not be following the suggestion of officials to axe all of the area’s lollipop people in a money-saving move.
But the collection cost of a garden waste bin is set to jump 25% this year.
It will rise from £40 to £50 – double the price of a green bin permit when first introduced in 2016.
Electric car drivers face a rise of more than 30% in the cost of plugging in to a public charger.
The price per kw/h for charging at a council EV point would rise from 41p to 55p.
And a £10 overstay charge is planned for those who block up bays.
And Angus residents can expect to see increases of around 10% across the board for everything from the cost of a burial plot to the price of a round of crazy golf.
SNP ruling group alternatives
The council meets to set its budget on Thursday.
In a departure from normal budget-setting practice, the SNP administration said it would not be following a number of recommendations by officials.
Those include the ruling group’s decision not to bring back parking charges.
They failed to generate the forecast income after controversially being re-introduced in 2018 after more than 20 years.
And meters have been under cover for almost four years since Covid-19.
Authority leader Beth Whiteside said the move was aimed at protecting town centre businesses.
One-off payments
Instead the ruling group will use a one-off payment to cover the budgeted £315k income this year.
It also opposes the prospect of Angus recycling centres being reduced from five to three.
Officials also wanted to do away with school crossing patrollers in a move which would save £50,000 this year and around £250k in 2025/26.
Ms Whiteside said her group will not agree to that on Thursday.
And another one-off payment of £100k will be used to deliver the district’s holiday Food and Fun programme.
However, plans are progressing to slash the number of community wardens by a third to save £175k.
The council leader added: “Once more we are faced with incredibly difficult decisions, balancing the priorities of looking after the most vulnerable in our society while supporting the hard-working people of Angus.
“We believe that the choices we have made in our budget proposal offer the best options for reaching a balanced budget.
“We must also remain focused on the positive investments we are making, with Monifieth learning campus on track to open in summer 2025, Arbroath Places for Everyone which is preparing to start on site shortly and the Tay Cities Regional Deal which will continue to bring investment and high-quality jobs to Angus.”
Council tax freeze?
It seems unlikely Angus will not take up the £2.84m it would receive from the Scottish Government if it applies a council tax freeze this year.
But finance spokesman Bill Duff said that decision – and the amount of reserves the administration plans to use this year – will be revealed at the budget meeting.
“For several years, Angus Council has been warning citizens of impending financial pressures,” he said.
“Perhaps some people thought we were crying wolf?
“The bad news is that the wolf is at the door.
“Our budget gap over the next three years is £37m and significant increases in council tax are now inevitable, whether we choose to freeze the tax this year or not.
“We are now in a very challenging position.”
A council house rent increase of 6.7% – the highest for more than a decade – has already been approved by councillors.
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