OPPOSITION leaders have slammed plans by borough bosses to increase council tax by around 16 per cent over the next four years as they try to tackle their biggest-ever funding crisis.

Dudley Council cabinet members announced on Monday a revised plan to cut a predicted £50million deficit to just under £21million – in part by raising council tax by just under four per cent each year for the next four years.

But Dudley’s Conservative Party leader has branded the proposed year-on-year council tax hike as “ridiculous” with the leader of the borough’s UKIP group saying the rise will “hit people on the lowest incomes”.

Councillor Pete Lowe, leader of Labour-controlled Dudley Council, however, says despite the increase – which is the first in six years - borough residents will continue to pay the lowest council tax rates in the West Midlands and some of the lowest in the country.

He said the proposed increase was necessary “due to the continued reduction in funding from government, which leaves us with a significant shortfall moving forward”.

The four per cent council tax rise planned for 2016/17, equivalent to 77p more per week for a band C property, will comprise of a 1.99 per cent planned increase and will see the council taking up the government's proposal to increase rates by a further two per cent which will go directly into the adult social care budget to help Dudley’s elderly.

Cllr Patrick Harley, Tory group leader in Dudley, said: "After a five-year council tax freeze - it’s understandable they may want to put it up by four per cent. There is a shortfall of funding for adult social care and the government has given us the freedom to do this.

"What we won’t support is doing it for the full four years – we should take it year on year rather than tie the electorate down for the next four years.”

He said an increase of four per cent every year for four years “is absolutely ridiculous”.

Cllr Paul Brothwood, leader of Dudley’s UKIP group, added: “The council is in a real mess. They’re going to have to do astronomical increases in council tax.

“It looks like we’re going to have council tax rises of four per cent for at least the next three years which is really going to hit people on the lowest incomes. Those that are struggling are the ones it’s going to hurt the most."

In addition to the budget boost estimated from the proposed council tax hike – authority bosses say efforts to reduce the impact of the introduction of the national living wage and abolishing an annual two per cent inflationary increase in departmental budgets should help to improve the financial picture and save around £13million.

The council also expects a better than previously forecast government grant, which will make them £7million better off down the line, after councillors lobbied Whitehall.

However - finance bosses say they still face huge challenges and they are proposing to make savings of £8million in 2016/17, moving up to £18million by 2017/18 and £20million by 2018/19.

But even with the cost-cutting measures, the latest budget report forecasts there will still be a deficit of £23m by 2019/20 if additional savings cannot be found.

The budget proposals will go before the council’s cabinet at a meeting on Monday January 18 at 6pm.