People in Gwynedd will have to stump up an extra £75 a year after council officials voted to increase council tax in the county.

Council tax will rise 5.8 per cent after a full council meeting rubber-stamped the 2019/20 budget, which will see Band D ratepayers from Abergwyngregyn to Aberdyfi pay an extra £75.69 a year – or £1.46 a week.

As a result, the portion of the average Band D council tax bill that goes to Gwynedd Council will increase to £1,376.22 from April.

In what has become a common cry from Welsh local authorities, the need to rise the council tax was blamed on a reduction of 0.2 per cent in central government contributions, with Gwynedd also being hit by additional inflation and staff wage costs.

In total, the authority had to fill a £13m deficit, with the council tax rise expected to bring in an extra £4.13m and the remaining gap to be filled thanks to savings and “back office” efficiencies.

“This has been a difficult budget but, in our view, is one that supports our most vulnerable residents,” said outgoing finance portfolio holder Cllr Peredur Jenkins, who accepted that Gwynedd’s average income was among the lowest in the UK.

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