Council tax payers in Dundee will be hit with a 4.8% rise as part of a £5 million package of cuts announced last night.
The rates hike, approved as part of Dundee City Council’s budget for 2020-21, will leave some homeowners paying as much as £150 more.
Residents living in Band D properties will pay an extra £63 as a result of the change, just 0.04% less than the maximum Scottish councils were allowed to set.
Council tax accounts for 18% of the authority’s income and finance chiefs hope the change will help secure an extra £2.5m.
Further savings will be made by reducing the council’s workforce through early retirement and voluntary redundancies, with further reductions expected in the future.
Burial fees will also go up and a review of parking charges is expected to generate additional income of £87,000.
Funding for cultural organisations will be cut by £57,000, including a £17,000 reduction for Dundee Rep.
Third party project and grant funding will be cut by a further £150,000 and community safety payments will lose £114,600.
Savings of £79,000 will be made by stopping the supply of plants to Camperdown Park and discontinuing provision of city-wide hanging baskets and barrier planters.
The ruling SNP administration said £5 million had been secured to mitigate welfare cuts passed on from Westminster.
It also set aside £100,000 to support the recommendations of the Fairness Commission, established to tackle inequality in the city.
The budget sees spending on children and families services rise from £193.7m to £201.3m, while cash for Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership has gone up from £77.3m to £80.1m.
Proposed cuts to school crossing patrollers were removed before the budget was presented.
Opposition members blasted the SNP group for “railroading” its plans through without accepting any proposals put forward by other parties.
Council leader John Alexander had earlier claimed the SNP and Labour proposals were 99.97% in agreement.
Dundee Labour councillor Michael Marra said the administration’s budget would disproportionately impact on women and the city’s most vulnerable.
He branded assessments ordered by the council into the budget’s impact on local communities as a “farcical waste of time”.
Mr Marra said: “We have to make it look like services exist when in fact we know that they don’t. That is an intolerable situation.”
Conservative group leader Derek Scott also hit out at the spending priorities of the SNP group.
He said: “In December we agreed a £6 million urban beach but we can’t find £6,000 for some hanging baskets in the centre of Dundee to brighten the place up a bit.
“We need to look at the way money is allocated in local authorities.”
Willie Sawers, depute convener of the policy and resources committee, said it was becoming “increasingly difficult” to protect public services.
He said: “I’m pleased that we have managed to increase spending on children and families, and the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership.
“These are the two areas of service that the public consistently tell us are their priorities and we have reflected this in our budget.
“Additionally, we’ve maintained the price of school meals at their current level.
“We are investing £500,000 within the 2020-21 revenue budget to support the delivery of the action plans in response to the Dundee Drugs Commission and the Independent Mental Health Inquiry.
“This funding demonstrates our commitment to providing additional resources to support improving health and wellbeing for our citizens.”
