ABERYSTWYTH residents will be hit with a near 10 per cent increase on the price they pay to fund Aberystwyth Town Council from April despite the ongoing cost of living crisis as councillors sign off on a budget that will have grown by more than £135,000 in just two years.

From April, councillors have decided, residents will have to pay an extra 9.72 per cent on the portion of council tax that goes to Aberystwyth Town Council in a bid to provide more services.

The tax hike follows a more than 15 per cent rise last year, meaning the amount that Aberystwyth Town Council collects from residents will have risen from a shade over £500,000 a year in 2022/23 to £635,275 from April next year.

The extra £135,000 will be used on a variety of projects.

This year a town poet has been employed at £1,000 a year, a post that is set to continue.

Burgeoning staffing levels at the council, and the ongoing project to transform the former St Winefride’s Church into the town council offices and community hub have also contributed to the budget hikes.

At a meeting of Aberystwyth Town Council’s Finance and Establishments Committee on 11 December, members signed off on its budget for next year.

It was fully backed by councillors at a full meeting on 18 December.

Within the extra budget, councillors agreed to use the extra money from residents to buy a street cleaning machine for £55,000.

The council also allocated a major rise in staffing costs - increased to £182,000 a year - “to allow for salary increases and additional members of staff.”

Elsewhere, the tree planting budget was reduced to £8,000 for 2024/25 “but it was envisaged this would be supplemented by grant funding”.

The funding allocation for the Farmer’s Market was removed from its current budget heading, with “the funding to come from community grants and events if necessary.”

The precept for 2024/25 will be £635,275.

The figure means that the average Band D property in Aberystwyth will be paying £156 a year towards the town council - a 9.72 per cent increase.

In 2023/24, the rise was more than 15 per cent.

The changes were made, council minutes said, “in order to keep the budget as low as possible whilst delivering as many services as possible.”

The amount of council tax paid to Aberystwyth Town Council by residents is more than double any other council in Ceredigion, while Aberystwyth Town Council’s entire budget makes up around 40 per cent of everything collected from all town and community councils across the county.