Swanse Council has approved a budget for next year that will include investment in schools, literacy and projects directly benefitting local people and local business.
Spending plans for 2011 to 2012 were approved at special meeting of the Council.
Council Tax set by Swansea Council for a Band D property will rise by 3.4% – just 62p extra a week and is below inflation.
The budget will see the Council investing extra money in schools and boosting literacy skills. There will also be extra investment in child and family services.
The capital budget provides for an investment of £171 million in Swansea during the five year period 2010/11 to 2014/15.
Cllr Stuart Rice, Cabinet member for Finance, said: “This is not an easy budget, but one which prioritises front line services and puts investment in our children and city’s future.”
The approved budget means schools will receive an extra £1.2 million above the Welsh Assembly Government’s Education Funding Guarantee and £400,000 will be targeted towards helping improve literacy in schools.
The capital budget will see spending on projects to directly benefit local people and local business.
An extra £20 million will be spent on council housing. The Council plans to employ extra apprentices to carry out this work which will provide quality jobs for young people.
Supported by a range of Welsh Assembly grants the capital budget will also see more than £42 million spent in 2011/12 on a range of schemes.
These range from refurbishing Lower Oxford Street and improving the waterfront promenade to refurbishing Cefn Hengoed and Morriston comprehensive schools and making adaptations to residential properties via the Disabled Facilities Grants.
Cllr Rice added: “Due to the pressures on public sector finances the Council has a shortfall of £15 million next year alone and also needs to meet the rising costs of inflation, extra demand for child and family services and the landfill tax.
“Our first priority has been to squeeze management costs, reduce staffing levels through voluntary redundancies and make our services more efficient so that the Council is leaner and more cost-effective.
“But despite making these savings, we will have make reductions to some services to protect our priority areas of street scene services, pupil services and vulnerable people.
“By doing this we have identified more than £11 million in savings and we’ve avoided widespread cuts to the services that people value the most.”
