STRUGGLING householders are being faced with a council tax hike of almost five per cent so that the county council can “have more services”, a meeting heard last week.

Ceredigion Cabinet members backed a proposed 4.95 per cent increase and recommended that a future meeting of the full council in February should support the increase.

Despite the council getting a small increase in funding from the Welsh Government, working out at around 0.4 per cent in total, a 4.95 per cent council tax increase would mean council tax in Ceredigion has gone up by almost a quarter since 2013/14.

A report from Stephen Johnson, the head of finance, says the department was currently basing estimates for future years on five per cent rises each year, although that would depend on the funding settlement from the Welsh Government.

The rise in council tax in the last financial year was four per cent, with the three years before then seeing five per cent rises.

The near five per cent rise is now needed to help fund efforts to raise the pay of staff on the lowest pay scales.

Mr Johnson’s report says: “The impact upon and the implications for the continued provision of the current level of the council’s services cannot be emphasised enough.

“Council tax increases were four per cent for the current year and at five per cent for the previous three years due to the significant reductions in the settlement.

“The revenue settlement now funds less than three quarters of the council’s budget with council tax covering the balance.

“Increasing council tax by 4.95 per cent enables services to benefit as this enables the shortfall that has mainly arisen due to the move towards the National Living Wage increase to be covered.”

• Powys residents are also facing a five per cent council tax increase. The county council says it needs the extra £3.5m income to address problems with children’s services and provide cash for schools because of Welsh Government funding cuts.

The proposal comes after it emerged that Machynlleth residents will be paying an 18.7 per cent increase in the town council part of the council tax to pay into a contingency fund, replace the computer system and pay for pay increases and pension payments for town council staff.

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