Newport City Council estimates it will have to save £4.3 million if it is to balance its budget for the next financial year, beginning in April.
To manage this, the local authority has proposed cuts to library services and community centres, changes at some care homes, and a council tax rise.
These proposals follow a series of other savings measures, announced in November, which mainly focus on automating services and moving various applications to online-only.
Why is Newport City Council facing a budget gap?
Like many local authorities in Wales, the focus of the new financial year in Newport will be addressing a multimillion-pound shortfall in its budget.
This is generally because the cost of providing council services has risen more quickly, in recent years, than any increases in central government funding to local government.
A new council report shows the council has to contend with recent inflation and new pay rises for staff such as teachers.
The cost-of-living crisis has led to more people requesting support from councils, and there are also labour shortages in key areas such as social care.
How is Newport City Council funded?
The vast majority of the council’s funding comes from Welsh Government grants – which are in turn paid for by money given to Wales by the UK Government.
This year, Newport is expected to receive the most generous percentage increase in support.
A 5.6% proposed rise in its settlement, compared with last year, will give the city council an extra £17.5 million to fund its services.
The local authority also raises money through collecting council tax, and this year Newport residents are facing a 6.7% increase in their bills.
The council has also proposed increasing a range of fees for people requesting certain services.
How will Newport City Council tackle its funding gap?
The council unveiled early plans to save money last November, focusing on streamlining services to cut out unnecessary spending.
At the time, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who leads the local authority, said the “main focus for us is how we can modernise services and be more efficient”.
Measures included automating customer self-service processes, and also making forms online-only for services such as parking permits, school admissions and blue badges.
A series of other schemes, such as shopping around for better utilities contracts, and revising budgets for regional services, was also included in the November proposals – which are now estimated will save the council £4.1 million next year.
A further £564,000 will be saved using a new range of proposals, announced this week.
They include cutting the number of council libraries in Newport – on the basis demands for the service have “changed significantly over the last six years, with many members moving away from visiting physical sites”.
The council wants to “consolidate” the service and keep open four “compass” sites: the city’s Central Library, Rogerstone Library, Bettws and Malpas Court, and Ringland.
The “well-used” Caerleon Library has been earmarked for closure, but could remain open as a volunteer-led library if a local group takes over the building via Community Asset Transfer arrangements.
On that note, the new measures also include a review of community centres, which are suffering from an “unsustainable” maintenance backlog and a “low” rate of use.
The council is proposing that the volunteer groups which run nine of the city’s community centres take “full responsibility” for those sites under CAT arrangements.
CATs would also be pursued for the council-run community centres of Eveswell – where an arrangement has “already been agreed” – as well as Caerleon and Rivermead.
The council hopes that by transferring those sites to other groups, it can run its remaining community centres – in Bettws, Maesglas and Ringland – “effectively and within budget”.
The council has proposed increasing many of the fees it charges for certain services.
These could include roughly 8.5% hikes in many rates at residential homes and day centres.
Booking fees for community centres are also set for a general increase, including charging more than double the current rate for weekend slots at some sites.
Various cemetery services, including burial fees, could go up by 8%.
Allotment fees are also likely to rise by 8%, as are a range of charges for booking and using parks and sports pitches.
Car parking charges in city parks are expected to rise from £1 to £1.50 for the first two hours, and the same increase has been proposed for the first four hours’ parking at the Fourteen Locks Canal Centre.
No increases for other car parks, such as the Kingsway in the city centre, have been proposed.
A new chargeable pest control service could see residents charged £40 for assessments, with further charges of £70 for up to three visits to deal with rodents, and fees of between £130 and £250 for callouts involving fleas, bedbugs and cockroaches.
The Newport Matters circular is currently printed and delivered to residents six times a year, but could be reduced in frequency, or axed and replaced by “alternative methods” of communication, such as a digital edition.
Residential care homes at Parklands and Spring Gardens will no longer receive government funding for the short-term use of beds.
The council has proposed returning a “small number” of those beds to long-term care use.
What happens next?
The council’s cabinet members are expected to meet on January 13 to discuss the proposals and proceed to public consultation, giving residents the chance to have their say on the plans.
Councillors will also debate the proposals and cross-party committees have the opportunity to provide feedback.
The council will then draw up a list of final budget proposals for the 2025/26 financial year.