COUNCIL tax hikes and hundreds of jobs losses are set to be the result of cost-cutting by Warwickshire County Council.
The authority has been told by the Government it must save £67million over the next three years.
And in a draft budget proposal by the majority Conservative group, they revealed proposals to raise council tax by 1.99 per cent each year, with an additional two per cent adult social care levy imposed on top of that during the first year.
If the proposal is approved, households face having to fork out around an extra £50 next year.
Extra money raised through the levy would be earmarked to provide investment in extra care housing for the elderly, and to support the county’s most vulnerable children they would hire 40 specialist social workers.
And plans were also revealed to shed 247 council jobs, and for the authority to maintain only the minimum level of reserves. While money in reserves would be used to fund redundancy pay, individual council services would have to use their own budgets and reserves to cover any extra investment needed.
The Tories say their budget plans would enable the council to scrap some suggested saving options including axing the jobs of 60 firefighters, reducing highways maintenance and cutting school transport services.
Council leader Izzi Seccombe said: “We are ensuring that we look after the most vulnerable people within our society, at a time when Warwickshire County Council has to face falling settlements and recognising that over three years up to 2020, we will have to make savings of £67million.”
The budget also suggests setting up a £5million ‘transformation fund’ to invest in staff who can support the new-look council of the future.
The report says: “We recognise the delivery of the savings plan will not be easy. The council will be a very different place by 2020 and we need to invest to ensure it is fit for purpose.
“We will set up a transformation fund to invest in our workforce so they have they capacity to deliver the considerable and increasingly complex transformation agenda required.
“We recognise implementation will be complex and an appropriately skilled support staff is crucial.”
The plans will be discussed between parties before a council meeting in February.
