THE council tax bills that land on doormats in Carmarthen this spring are set to be much lower than first feared.

Carmarthenshire Council is expected to impose a below inflation 1.97 per cent rise, while still managing to avoid cuts in services including the museums and children's respite centre.

To save these services and limit the tax rise to half the level initially feared, the council is digging deeper into its reserves, taking £2.4 million from them this year rather than the £1 million originally predicted.

If the council's executive board's proposals are approved, Carmarthenshire households will probably have to find another £18.36 to pay for services next year. The council tax levied on an average Band D home for county services — but excluding community, town and police charges — will rise from £932.77 to £951.13.

The move comes after council chiefs dropped proposals to close the county museum at Abergwili and a respite home for children with disabilities.

Council leader Meryl Gravell said: "It shows how as an executive board we have listened to what has been said in all the consultation."

The council's executive board has also recommended the price of school meals be frozen, that a proposed charge on the blue disabled parking badge be removed from this year's budget and agreed that the 50 per cent reduction in its funding to Welsh language support service Mentrau Iaith be introduced over three years instead of one.

Council director of resources Roger Jones told Monday's executive board meeting reserves would drop below the council's preferred minimum of three to 2.3 per cent.

He said: "I'm comfortable to go with that figure, but I would be worried if we went below that."

The council has also benefited from £267,000 extra from the Welsh Government and the fire authority expecting to return £210,000 to it.

Some other cuts have been proposed or brought forward.

Sickness

For example, the council now hopes to double next year's savings from placing fewer older people into residential care to £300,000, while also saving £250,000 by reducing staff sickness rates and using non-council staff to provide more care for those people in their home.

And getting schools to fund the Carmarthenshire instrumental music service from their own budgets will save £230,000 one year earlier than expected.

Mrs Gravell wants the budget to include a one per cent increase in staff pay, but this cannot be guaranteed as it is dependent on discussions outside of the council too.

After the meeting, Councillor Peter Hughes-Griffiths, leader of the opposition Plaid group, said they were working up an alternative budget.

"At a stroke they cut [the tax rise by] two per cent and give a one per cent raise to the staff," he said. "It shows they have the money if they can bring it down in one stroke.

"Why did they not do it before then?"

The budget now has to go before full council for approval.