Council leaders find out tomorrow how much money the Government will give the authority for the 2004/05 financial year.
Of the current financial year's £180 million budget for Swindon Council services, 67 per cent came directly from the Government, with the rest coming from council tax and other sources of revenue such as parking charges.
However, the current Conservative administration says this has fallen under the Labour Government from 72 per cent in 1997. The Conservatives also say the Government is continually asking it to spend more in areas such as education, placing further strain on the budget.
Councillor Justin Tomlinson (Con, Abbey Meads) said: "That is why we have seen a 32 per cent council tax hike in two years.
"Very little of that money has gone on increasing service provision it has been used pretty much just to keep us standing in the same place."
Councillor Tomlinson added that each percentage point increase in council tax amounted to about £500,000 in cash terms. The funding package to be announced by the Government tomorrow will determine next year's council tax level for Swindon and the rest of the country's local authorities. All local authorities are braced for bad news and are expecting to pass on big bills to homeowners.
The issue now is whether tax has to be upped by as much as 12 per cent, as is feared.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils on a national level, has warned that there is an £800 million hole in finances.
Such a shortfall between Government grant and the pressures on local authorities will leave councillors facing a stark choice, it claims. They will either have to cut hard-pressed frontline services or impose massive increases in council tax bills to bridge the gap. OAPs are expected to be especially hard hit again by any increases.
Meanwhile, new figures released by the Deputy Prime Minister's office show that council tax has soared since Labour came to power.
In 1997, owners of a typical Band D home in the south west had to stump up £622 a year in local taxes. This year the same owners were forced to pay up to £1,113, equivalent to a 79 per cent increase in seven years. Swindon's Band D council tax is similar to the south west average at £1,041.27.
Evening Advertiser 18/11/03