MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council leader Peter Fox is warning in his column this week that council tax payers in the area will have to carry a 'bigger burden' than people living in other parts of Wales, because of what he calls an unfair budget settlement from the Welsh Government.

I have spent some time over the festive period reflecting on what 2020 will bring for residents in Monmouthshire.

The council is facing £9.7 million of new unavoidable costs that need to be incorporated into the 2020/21 budget.

I, fellow elected members, and officers will spend the next few weeks talking and listening to residents about the year ahead and how much money we have to save in order to maintain services.

In December when Welsh Government outlined its settlements for every authority in Wales, it could be perceived that Monmouthshire had been dealt a good hand. However in light of the settlements that neighbouring authorities and even further afield received, it appears we have not.

We have been treated very unfairly and I feel very strongly that our residents will lose out. I would like to see all authorities being treated fairly. I believe every council in Wales should receive exactly the same percentage gain or loss on their budget for the remainder of this Assembly term.

If the government is too short sighted to introduce this fairness, then I see justification in limiting the difference in awards between the biggest winner and biggest loser to one per cent.

We have always been seen as the wealthy relations, but this is an unfair portrayal. The funding we obtain from Welsh Government will not meet the ongoing pressures we are dealing with in the county.

We are an innovative, forward facing council and we are constantly looking at ways we can help deal with pressures such as our ageing population, support for children and young people, but we still need to look at how we can raise funds.

It is with a heavy heart that we are consulting on an increase in Council tax of 4.95 per cent for 2020/21, and 3.95 per cent for following years. The harsh reality is that council tax payers are going to have to carry a bigger burden in Monmouthshire than elsewhere because Wales Government chooses not to fund us as well as it funds others.

I encourage residents to take a look at our proposals - they can be found on the website: monmouthshire.gov.uk/budget-2020-2021/

Please, if you can, come along to one of our public meetings taking place in the north and south of the county. We also have a special Access for All meeting where we will really delve into the proposals affecting our most vulnerable residents, ‪on Friday January 17, at St Mary's Priory, Abergavenny, ‪11am-2pm.

Facebook and Twitter are also brilliant ways to share your thoughts, or have your say via our online survey: monmouthshire.gov.uk/budget-2020-2021/ engagement ‪- it ends on January 31 and the budget will be set in March 2020.