Letter from the Leader

The past year has been a further year of considerable change within the council. We made it clear last year that continued low settlements from the Welsh Assembly Government for all local authorities mean that we have to be more efficient in the way that we conduct our business. We must ensure, however, that we continue to improve services for our residents.

The £3.3 million of efficiencies which we have achieved this year will mean that savings of £17 million have been achieved over the past 5 years. Despite this we have protected schools from the Assembly Government efficiency savings and other front line services have seen increased investment particularly adult social services where we will put in an extra £2 million this coming year to meet increasing demand.

We have also seen major service improvements in the following areas:-

• As promised we have rolled out recycling to almost all homes in the county and our recycling rates are now amongst the best in Wales

• Long overdue investment in roads and pavements although we know there is much more to do

• Improved environmental performance following the launch of Pride in Your Streets which will be followed by a one stop shop for other Council services this year. Our services need to be responsive to our customers needs

• Investment in 56 Police Community Support Officers leading to a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour

Our improved performance is being recognised by many outside regulators and in the past few weeks we have received our best ever reports from Wales Audit, Estyn for education and the Care Standards Inspectorate. Our improvement must continue.

The Council Tax increase of 2.9% will be amongst the lowest in Wales for the second year running. It is important for the Council to continue to strive for efficiencies to keep costs down. We calculate that the increase would have been 12% this coming year without the savings we have identified as we again have one of the lowest settlements in Wales from the Welsh Assembly Government. I hope you recognise the Council's drive to focus on its customers and as I said last year please feel free to contact me if you have any comments.

We also have to include the amount which North Wales Police need to provide their services on our bills and a separate leaflet explains the reasons for their 4.5% increase.

Councillor Mr Aled Rhys Roberts
Council Leader