IT IS the time of year once more when council tax rates across Gwent are being proposed by councils as part of budget discussions for 2020/21.

Unsurprisingly, increases are on the agenda again across the area's five councils with the current proposal ranging from rises of four per cent to 7.95 per cent, depending on where you live.

But changes are likely in some if not all council areas, as adjustments are made to take Welsh Government funding into account.

Here's a guide to how things stand in each council at the moment:

How likely are changes going to be made to the increases proposed?

Newport

Despite receiving the largest increase from the Welsh Government settlement, Newport has proposed a 7.95 per cent council tax increase.

It is expected that this will fall before the budget for 2020/21 is approved by the council.

Last year the proposals included a council tax increase of 6.95 per cent, but this fell by one per cent to 5.95 per cent in the final budget.

It’s important to note that the budget proposals, including the council tax increase, were released before the Welsh Government settlement was announced, and the council was prepared for a much lower increase than the 5.4 per cent they could now get.

The consultation period is under way and the council has received backlash from residents over the potential increase.

But Newport’s council leader Cllr Jane Mudd has said no decisions will be made before the consultation period ends on January 31.

Caerphilly

When Caerphilly first announced its draft budget proposals, the council proposed a 6.95 per cent increase in council tax.

However, they were the first council in Gwent to announce their proposals and did so in November, a month before the Welsh Government settlement was released.

While they will be receiving a modest 4.1 per cent from the Welsh Government under the draft proposals, the council’s budget had assumed only a one per cent increase.

Following various consultations, the council has since revised their council tax proposal to 4.7 per cent.

While a final decision is yet to be made, Caerphilly residents can be confident that the revised proposal will be more in line with the final budget.

Blaenau Gwent

Residents in Blaenau Gwent could see the smallest increase in council tax across the region, with a proposed four per cent increase.

This probably has something to do with their draft budget proposals being announced just this week.

The council has had ample time to consider the settlement and the budget proposals have been considered around the 3.9 per cent Welsh Government draft settlement they could receive.

Although subject to change, the council has already said that the settlement is better than expected and as a result there would be no cuts to frontline services.

With no budget consultation planned, residents can be confident that there should be little movement from the proposed four per cent.

Torfaen

In December, Torfaen announced its plans to keep the proposed council tax rise of 4.95 per cent that was agreed in the medium-term financial plan in March 2019.

The council should see a 4.5 per cent increase in the Welsh Government settlement, above the 4.3 per cent average.

Cuts of one per cent have been proposed to a number of services and the council has also said that a significantly better than expected settlement will help protect front line services.

An increase in the number of council tax bad D properties will also help the council’s position.

However, the consultation period is still ongoing and there’s plenty of time for changes to be made.

Monmouthshire

For the third year in a row Monmouthshire has received the smallest increase in the local government settlement.

With an increase of three per cent, the council have expressed their disappointment at the “unfair” system.

In some respects, it’s rather surprising that the council has proposed a council tax increase of 4.95 per cent, in line with Torfaen and lower than Newport.

Like Newport, the council released their budget proposals before the Welsh Government settlement was announced, but the disappointment from the council indicates that council tax is more likely to be increased than decreased.

However, the council is lobbying the Welsh Government, but any extra funding received will go towards the individual schools’ budgets where there’s been a proposed cut of two per cent.