Merthyr Tydfil plans a 2.5% increase in council service fees next year, decided by council members.
A report discussed these fees and went to cabinet and full council on Wednesday, February 26. Some areas won’t follow the standard increase. Social care charges might change later because new Welsh Government guidance is coming.
The Lifeline service won’t cost more in 2025/2026. This service provides community alarms. Monitoring charges rose 40% in 2024/25, and installation fees were added for new users.
Lifeline aims to keep current customers and attract more users to improve their financial return. Taxi licensing fees aren’t changing, at least not right now.
All councils use a cost recovery tool to help set taxi fees, but they use it differently. The report showed this inconsistency. Until they figure out the best way to use the tool, taxi fees stay the same.
Building control fees will also stay the same. They need to calculate these fees correctly, which is a big job. They will consider it over the coming months, and there will be no fee changes until it’s done.
They are also reviewing cemetery fees, and this review should finish this month. Maximizing income isn’t the council’s only goal. Some services can’t fully recover costs because that could hurt residents.
They need to balance affordability and reasonable fees. The council must use public funds wisely and also wants to protect key services. These services need cost recovery to survive.
Each service area is checking their fees and comparing them to other councils nearby to find a good benchmark. Merthyr Tydfil checks for any unusual fees, and they may increase some above the usual rate.
Some fees went up to match Welsh Government guidance. This reflects rising costs tied to inflation. Some are set regionally, too. Others will stay the same or rise less to keep them competitive and help grow customers.
Some fees are beyond the council’s control. These will change when the council gets updates during the financial year.