Council tax to rise 4.9% as Wrexham sets £368m budget for 2026/27

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : Cllr Hugh Jones spoke against the amendment, picking up the mention of 'tourist tax', "I'm absolutely astounded at the proposal with regards to a tourism tax, given that both the proposer and the seconder of this recommendation made very positive, very positive contributions to the City of Culture workshop yesterday.
57% : Wrexham Council has approved a net revenue budget of £368,792,041 for 2026/27, with a council tax increase of 4.9% at Band D. The budget was carried by 39 votes to 12 at yesterday's Full Council.
56% : The approved 4.9% increase comprises 4.3% for the council's own budgets and 0.6% to cover a £540,000 rise in the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service levy.
55% : It sets the Band D council tax at £1,835.55 for the council element.
55% : These savings they claimed, totalling £180,000, would fund an Open Spaces vacancy (£50,000) and additional community public transport spending (£130,000).
52% : The amendment also proposed reducing the council tax increase to 3.3%, excluding the fire precept, funded by a £1.2m draw from general reserves.
52% : This was linked to a longer-term proposal to implement a visitor levy to replace the reserves draw from 2027/28.
52% : "Wrexham imposing a tourist levy, or a tourist tax, at the time when we're bidding for the City of Culture and the potential to bring in in excess of £700 million into the county borough absolutely amazes me.
52% : I can't believe that any Councillor could vote for a tourist levy, because just think about what that will do for our bid for City of Culture?
51% : It proposed cutting two executive board seats (saving £50,000), cutting one committee chair (£10,000), and increasing the council tax premium on second homes from 50% to 100% (raising an estimated £120,000).
49% : The council's medium term financial plan projects a budget hole of £35.2m over three future years, assuming councils finances increase from Cardiff by 1.5% and we all pay 6% extra council tax year on year.
47% : An alternative budget, which proposed reducing the council tax increase to 3.3%, was defeated earlier in the same meeting - it had five proposals, but the planned reduction would have been funded via £1.2m taken from reserves.
47% : Council Leader Mark Pritchard, lead member for finance, presented the budget and said the Welsh Local Government Association had calculated that cost pressures facing councils in 2026/27 amounted to £560m across Wales, equivalent to a 9% settlement uplift or a council tax increase of more than 25%.
47% : He said the consultation had resulted in a "very clear message, which was clear and understandable: people are fed up paying more for less, more council tax for less Council services.
46% : On the reserves draw, she said: "If we take 1.2 million out of reserves, all we're doing is putting the pressure on next year, because you can only spend that once" - with some maths explained that using that plan this year could infact mean council tax up a further 1.6% next year.
45% : "I don't want to give any impression to those who are going to make a judgement on Wrexham for city of culture that we are anywhere near even thinking about putting on a tourist tax".
44% : On that proposal the Officer said plainly, "It is not something I could support as Section 151 Officer, if we turn to the second element, which is the use of reserves or balances to reduce the level of council tax, it's not prudent to fund the budget gap at this scale with reserves or balances, even if there were a more certain or reliable potential future revenue stream to replace it.

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