Sandwell Council has set out a balanced budget for 2025/26 which supports vulnerable people and sets a path to deliver long-lasting change for residents.

The proposed budget sets out £364million of spending on services that serve 344,000 residents, up to £140million of investment on capital projects and a further £78million of investment in the council’s housing stock.

The budget also proposes measures to address the council’s budget gap of more than £19million, including a Council Tax increase of 4.99% to help maintain statutory services, support vulnerable people and focus on delivering high quality services to residents.

This reflects the continuing pressures on councils across the country to provide adult social care and children’s services and education – which costs the council around 60% of its budget.

More than 2,800 residents, businesses, young people and community groups have helped shape the council’s proposed budget by taking part in extensive consultation.

The budget maintains investment in key areas, including youth services, community safety, and the maintenance of parks, open spaces and highways.

Proposals to address the funding gap include a move to alternate weekly bin collections, making the best use of council assets including selling buildings that are no longer needed, a sport and leisure review and increases to the fees for some chargeable services.

Deputy Leader of Sandwell Council and cabinet member for finance and resources Councillor Paul Moore said: “Although we’re not facing the extreme financial challenges some councils are facing, we have to set a balanced budget and we do need to make some bold and difficult decisions.

“Demand for our services is increasing and will continue to increase over the coming years.

“This proposed budget will help us to continue to manage our finances soundly and prevent us from getting into financial difficulties further down the line.

“We are changing and modernising the way we work to provide high-quality services, so they meet the needs of our residents and offer value for money.

“Through consultation with residents, business and community groups and young people, we’ve been able to listen to any concerns. We recognise there are concerns about some of our proposals which we will seek to address.”

Leader of Sandwell Council, Councillor Kerrie Carmichael added: “Sandwell Council is completely focused on getting things right for our residents – delivering high-quality services that are easy to use and working for the people who need them.

“We are a caring council, and this budget protects vulnerable people and sets us up to deliver our ambitious plans for Sandwell.

“We want our borough to be a great place for children to grow up. We want to make Sandwell a cleaner, greener and safer place to live and for our residents to live longer in good health. And we want to create the good jobs and opportunities that will help everyone realise their potential.

“Our aim as we continue on our journey to becoming an outstanding council is to commit to making real changes, which will benefit our residents and our borough for generations to come.”

The proposed budget will go before the council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 5 February, before going to Full Council on Tuesday 25 February.