RESIDENTS in Calderdale will face a council tax rise of 2% from April.

The authority says it needs to make the increase to protect frontline services.

The council has issued its draft budget for 2013/14 onwards and sets out what the council wants to spend its £181m a year budget on.

It’s now going out to public consultation before being finalised on February 25.

Clr Tim Swift, council leader, said: “The Government have offered a grant if we keep the council tax rise to 1%. We looked at that carefully and the long-term needs of the budget and decided it wasn’t suitable.

“We have decided on a 2% council tax rise which is the highest the council can do within the current rules and without having a referendum.

“We do recognise the need to keep council tax rises low.”

The draft budget reveals the council’s spending plans:

£2.5m boost to stimulate the economy.

Promoting the Living Wage for low-paid workers Calderdale-wise. The council said it needs to lead with its own staff.

£2m more for children’s social care.

£300,000 axed from Highways budget by 2014/15.

The draft budget contains details of “efficiencies” in adult social care with the financial report showing that through “lean working, efficiency review of services and review of pricing and income targets” they will save £850,000 this year and £4.5m by 2016.

By June the council will reveal how it will make adult social care savings and what impact it will have. The draft budget says that with the move to personalisation and a greater focus on commissioned services, it will review its own services and make savings through rationalising, decommissioning and outsourcing.

They will also aim to save £500,000 on waste collection, which could mean changes to what is recycled.

Clr Swift added: “Since 2010 we’ve identified £40.5m in reductions and savings. Going forward by March 2016 we’re having to find a further £21m on top of that, which means that the total savings we’ll have made since 2010 is £75m.

“It’s very difficult to make savings without it impacting on services. We wouldn’t do some of this if we had the money.”

Clr Janet Battye, deputy leader and leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “It’s a big priority for us to make sure that we provide frontline services for local people. That’s what people want and that’s what we are still trying to do for them.”

Ahead of the draft budget plans, Clr Stephen Baines, leader of the Conservatives, told the Examiner: “The council could have made £2.5m savings in joint purchasing with Kirklees Council, there could be a lot of reductions made to services in that way but we’ve had no vibes they’ve looked at that.”

The council needs to find additional savings of £17m by 2016 on top of savings identified since 2010 and still to be implemented. By 2016 there will have been £73m in cuts – more than a quarter of the council’s overall budget.

The council already knows its spend on local services will drop from £181m in 2013/14 to £169m by April 2015.