Council tax, parking charges and other fees would rise in York under budget proposals for this year, but there are no new cuts planned according to senior councillors.
City of York Council’s budget proposals would see a five per cent increase in most fees and charges including an extra ten per cent for parking on Fridays, Saturdays and during events.
But spending in some areas is set to increase with £180,000 extra earmarked for cost of living support and £20,000 set aside to explore a new Dial & Ride service.
Council finance spokesperson Cllr Katie Lomas said it was hoped the plans would help make local services more efficient and responsive to residents’ needs despite an extremely challenging budgetary position.
It comes as the proposals are set to go before the council’s Labour-run executive on Tuesday, 21 January before being put to all councillors for a vote.
The proposals follow three rounds of consultation including a ‘big budget conversation’ survey which asked participants which services they valued most and where they thought savings could be made.
Proposals published on Monday, 13 January include hiking council tax by the 4.99 per cent limit, equivalent to a £96.99-a-year hike on a Band D property.
Rents for council-owned properties would also increase by an average of 2.7 per cent.
Charges at council-run car parks would rise to £4.85-an-hour for the first two, with a 10 per cent premium added on Fridays, Saturdays and during events such as the Christmas Market.
But parking charge discounts for Minster Badge holders would increase from 10 per cent to 30 per cent.
Cllr Lomas told reporters the parking hikes were designed to raise income in the short term while encouraging more public transport use to try and cut congestion in coming years.
Economy spokesperson Cllr Pete Kilbane said the council could not continue to rely on parking income.
But he added Minster Badge discount attempted to allay fears from high street businesses over a drop in trade from residents.
Library talks ongoing
The hikes and savings proposed as part of the council’s ‘transformation programme’ including on contracts, staff posts and back office functions will raise around £6.4m in the 2025-6 financial year.
Cllr Kilbane said talks continued with Explore York, which runs the city’s libraries and archives, on the £600,000 cuts it needed to make between last year and 2026.
But a council report stated it would still leave a budget gap of £23m in the coming years and all spending will have to be considered to close it.
It added efforts to find alternative sources of income, secure grants and control costs may not be enough to balance the books with much depending on Government decisions.
Areas which are set for a spending boost include £150,000 on neighbourhood caretakers which Labour pledged to introduce when they took office in 2023.
They would be used to try and improve public spaces and help the council be more responsive to local concerns while co-ordinating work across the authority’s departments.
Funding worth £50,000 has been earmarked for York Hungry Minds, the appeal set up to finance universal free school meals which Labour also pledged with trial schemes ongoing.
Financial inclusion grants for organisations working to address cost of living issues for residents are set for an increase of £50,000.
There is also set to be a £50,000 investment in disability equality training, with Cllr Lomas saying it would help the authority to rectify past mistakes in decision-making.
Homes modernisation
The council’s highway maintenance budget is also set to be held at current levels after consultations showed any cuts to pothole and other repairs were unpopular.
Schemes including a park improvement fund and the modernisation of council homes are set to be backed by £500,000 and £800,000 respectively in the Capital Budget for local projects.
But Cllr Kilbane said the Station Gateway scheme and others were under review and additional funds would be required to finish them.
An extra £8m has been pledged to help meet rising demands for and costs of social care, with £2.7m more for children’s services and £9m to cover inflationary pressures.
Cllr Lomas said despite the challenging financial picture the fact there were no cuts proposed on top of those ongoing from last year showed spending was being brought under control.
Cllr Kilbane said the council had turned a corner from the £14m-a-year overspend it faced when Labour took office but added the authority was not out of the woods.