BLAENAU Gwent council moved a step closer to raising next year's council tax yesterday, after the authority's executive committee approved a proposed increase of 3.2 per cent.

The executive committee recommended that the increase for 2011/2012 go before full council on March 7.

If it is approved there, the annual bill for people living in average Band D households will increase from £1,183.13 to £1,220.99 - an extra £37.86 a year, or an added 73p a week.

That figure is before the police precpt and any charge for community councils is added on.

But council director of resources Dave Waggett, who wrote the budget report put before the executive yesterday, pointed out the proposed increase was 1.2 per cent lower than last year, when council tax in the county increased by 4.4 per cent.

He added it would be the lowest increase imposed by the authority since 1996.

The executive committee also approved plans to make savings worth more than £3.5 million over the next financial year - up from the £1 million in savings it needed to make in 2010/2011.

This would include an estimated 75 jobs losses, but the executive heard that it is hoped the majority of jobs could be cut without compulsory redundancies, and the authority would try to lose posts by not replacing employees when positions become vacant.

Proposed savings include cutting £34,000 from members allowances and expenses, a saving of £28,500 by not replacing a support worker in children's services, and £5,000 cut from the budget for telephones for disabled people.

£41,900 could be saved by reconfiguring the county's library service, but a council spokeswoman said this will not mean any closures.

The savings proposals will also have to be approved by full council next month.