Aberdeenshire and Moray set for 10% council tax rises

Two councils in north-east Scotland have tabled proposals for council tax rises of 10%.

In Aberdeenshire - where £9m in cuts have been identified - that would see owners of a band D property pay £1,686, up from £1,532.

Neighbouring Moray Council has already approved savings of more than £4m and the 10% would take band D bills from £1,573 to £1,731.

Both councils will meet to set their budgets for the year ahead next week.

Aberdeenshire Council officials said that without an increase in income, they were facing a shortfall of more than £17.5m in funding.

They have proposed cuts to services including reduced school cleaning and grounds maintenance, stopping road line painting on residential streets, and stopping sheltered housing support contributions.

Almost £2.7m would be taken from reserves to balance the books.

Officials are also assuming an 8% rise the following year and then inflationary rises of 2.25% in the two years after that.

Moray Council said a 1% reduction in council tax would equate to approximately an additional £575,000 of savings required to balance the budget.