The Aberystwyth council portion of council tax will rise by 15 per cent for residents this year - in part to pay for a new member of staff.

Aberystwyth Town Council’s precept is the highest of any Ceredigion community council, and is set to rise even higher in April after councillors approved a 15 per cent hike “due to taking on more services and a second member of staff”.

In September, the council announced it was hunting for a deputy clerk, to help with an “increased workload and responsibilities”.

The town council already has a clerk, Gweneira Raw-Rees, and has never before had a deputy clerk.

The deputy clerk, hired in November, works 30 hours a week with a pro rata salary of just under £24,000.

The town council is meeting the cost of the new role from its budget, which is raised through the council tax precept on town residents – leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.

The Band D annual bill for 2018/19 was just under £90, which was almost double the precept of town councils in Cardigan and Lampeter, and significantly higher than the second highest precept in Ceredigion – Aberaeron Town Council, which charges just under £52.

That £89.25 figure is set to rise to £104.17 from April to meet the extra costs.

According to minutes from the council’s finance committee meeting, members approved that the “precept be increased to £384,780, which represents a £14.92 increase for Band D (£104.17)”, “due to taking on more services and a second member of staff”.

The average bill will see Aberystwyth taxpayers hand over £2 a week to town council coffers.

See this week’s Aberystwyth paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now