COUNCIL tax payers in Monmouthshire are facing a rise of nearly five per cent under plans set out for next year’s budget.

Monmouthshire County Council (MCC)’s cabinet will meet on Friday (20th December) to approve the release of budget proposals next week, with the authority needing to save £9.7 million.Cost pressures include £5.5 million in social care, £1.5 million funding services around children with additional learning needs and teachers pay and pension increases of £1.2 million.A proposed 4.95 per cent council tax rise from April, which would equate to an extra £65.12 a year on a band D property, would raise £509,000 towards total proposed savings of £7.9 million.A further £1.178 million is still needed to balance the books after the proposals set to be put forward.Other savings to go out for consultation include a two per cent cut to school budgets.The price of school meals could also go up from £2.45 to £2.50, resulting in an increase of £9.50 per year for a family with one school age child rising to £28.50 for a family with three children.A council report says Monmouthshire received the lowest funding per head of population of any local authority in Wales.“It is never popular to charge for services but the reality is that we need to do so,” the report says.“We are proposing increases in a number of areas.“Likewise increasing council tax is never popular but with national funding not keeping pace with demands on local authorities, local taxation is by default having to shoulder a greater proportion of our overall funding.”The Welsh Government announced how much funding each council will receive next year in its draft settlement on Monday, with Monmouthshire’s funding increasing by three per cent, from £95 million to £98 million.The leader of the council, Cllr Councillor Peter Fox said the settlement was disappointing.“I believe every council in Wales should receive exactly the same percentage gain or loss on their budget for the remainder of this Assembly term,” he said.“If the government is too short sighted to introduce this fairness then I see justification in limiting the difference in awards between the biggest winner and biggest loser to one percent.“I do not agree with the finance ministers’ view that a funding floor is not necessary.“We are calling on Wales Government for the next three years to pass the same average rise/reduction to all councils in Wales.”The move has been criticsed by local members of the Labour group, particularly by its leader Councillor Dimitri Batrouni.“Setting aside the hypocrisy of the Tories enthusiasm for public services cuts now asking for more money, there is no doubt Monmouthshire should receive a better settlement,” he said. “What would be a more effective approach to complaining is to work to change the local government funding formula. After all, you would never know from his comment that Peter Fox is on the committee that sets the formula for funding local government. He has been on it for years. Yet, he has done nothing. “It is also worth bearing in mind, Monmouthshire were planning to receive a one per cent cut, then a one per cent increase, but received a three per cent increase.”A public consultation on the plans is due to be held from Friday 20th December until 31st January.A spokeswoman for MCC said: “The budget proposals are set within a context of ongoing funding constraints and the financial challenges facing the council are driven by very real and increasing demographic and demand led pressures”.