BUDGET 2010/11: Coping with tough times
We look at where cuts will be made - and what areas have been saved as part of South Holland District Council's financial plans for the coming 12 months.
WHEN councillors looked at their draft budget plans in December they were asked to go back to the drawing board to find ways to plug a 528,000 hole in the planned general fund.
Cabinet members have come up with ways to trim the deficit - and they now want your views on the decisions they have taken.
Chief reporter ANDREW BROOKES examines which areas will be cut, which have been saved from the axe and look at how the council could save money in the future - with Government funding set to be even tighter next year in this extended online report.....
CUTS to the budget for markets and Ayscoughfee Hall Museum will form part of savings needed for next year's council budget.
The measures needed to cut the 500,000 hole in the budget have now been outlined - and the public were encouraged to have their say at a consultation meeting - and now with an online survey.
The budget deficit was explained at the meeting as the result of twin pressures of a cut in Government grants and an increase in costs for the council - with utility and fuel prices soaring at the same time that interest rates reduce the value of cash reserves.
As part of the financial package proposed council tax will go up by 2.55 per cent from 2.95 to 3.02 a week for a band D home.
A one per cent rise in the council tax pulls in an extra 40,000 funding for the authority.
Leader Gary Porter said it was the eighth consecutive year that the percentage increase had been lower than the previous rise and that he thought the bill would be "value for money".
He said: "This budget proposal shows that while we are prepared to make some cuts we are not prepared to make cuts to the frontline services that people expect from the council."
Measures put forward involve cutting down unneccesary council planning and saving on allowances given to staff - who face a pay freeze as part of a national tightening of public sector pay.
The future savings needed for the authority are reliant on a "merged services" proposal - to share back office duties with East Lindsey District Council.
Also, a move to end the free supply of black bin bags was mooted for future discussion.
* To have your say on the plans visit www.sholland.gov.uk and take part in the council's online consultation.
Also, join the debate on our letters page. E-mail kate.chapman@jpress.co.uk
SAVINGS
MARKETS
*Savings of around 15,000 will be made from the cost of providing markets in the district.
Discussions have centred around Spalding market - where the council picks up the cost of putting up stalls on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The authority discussed putting up rents by 2.50 a stall or asking traders to put up their own stalls - but following discussions between traders and the council an alternative idea will be explored.
The council will instead look to pass the cost of cleaning up the post-market waste onto traders - which should bring about the required saving.
Coun Angela Newton said: "I am really pleased that the council has got an ongoing dialogue with the traders themselves and I think that if they can agree cost savings themselves then it is better than having them imposed and is beneficial to everybody."
AYSCOUGHFEE
*Cuts to the management of the district's "jewel in the crown" - Ayscoughfee Hall Museum - are set to save the authority 40,000.
The cabinet says the venue does not need the level of "curatorship" that it currently enjoys - with exhibits now in and fully established.
Coun Nick Worth said: "At the end of day wandering around and looking at the building is the main part of the museum and to our opinion it doesn't seem like we need the level of management to look after the museum we have now."
STAFF/ADMIN
*Council staff will be asked to share the pain of the spending cuts - with a pay freeze and removal of allowances.
The authority will conduct a review on the allowances paid to staff using their vehicles on council business - which is expect to save 40,000.
The council will also save 70,000 through sharing work on the "Local Development Framework" with Boston Borough Council and Lincolnshire County Council.
Investment will be made in IT to save 27,000 on energy consumption, 3,000 saved through electronic communication with councillors and 60,000 through reducing senior staffing costs for direct services.
AREAS SAVED
TOILETS
*Public toilets will not face the axe as part of the budget plans.
Councillors were keen to stress that - despite some confusion among Holbeach residents - there was never an intention to close any of the district's public toilets.
Coun Nick Worth said: "We have had discussions with Holbeach Parish Council about the possibility of them taking the toilets on. That will be a decision for them based on the facts and figures.
"One thing that is hugely important to us is is keeping the toilets in Holbeach open."
An idea to replace public toilets by paying businesses to open up their facilities instead was explored but the council is not taking that any further.
GRANTS
*Grants to outside bodies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) have been saved from cuts.
The council supports the CAB and on-demand bus service Call Connect as well as other similar bodies and Gary Porter said it was right that this section of the budget is not cut.
Coun Porter said: "It would be ridiculous, at a time when some services need more money, to start taking it away from them.
"Unless there is an overwhelming public outcry I hope we don't go near this again."
CULTURE
*Spalding's Flower Parade and Pumpkin Parade will continue to be supported by the council.
Coun Nick Worth said the local economy benefits to the tune of 1m-plus from the Flower Parade - which was saved from the axe last year.
He said the knock-on effects of the May event boost the whole district - with church festivals held in the run-up to the main event.
The council pledged 50,000 a year for three years when a deal was cut to save the parade and Coun Gary Porter said that other people should be asked to find funding in the future.
Coun Porter said: "It would have been sending out the wrong message to let the parade collapse but that parade has got to be able to sustain itself in the future . If there is 1m coming into the economy then some of the people who benefit should find a way to contribute."
The October Pumpkin Parade was said to bring around 10,000 people into Spalding.
CAR PARKING
*A decision was also made not to try to make money out of the council's Priory Road car park by charging for it to be used on a Saturday.
Coun Gary Porter said it would be unfair to charge since council workers park there for free in the week.
FUTURE
MERGED SERVICES
*Merging "back office" services with East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) will cost South Holland District Council 500,000 in the coming year.
The move is expected to cost ELDC 1m and the cash will mostly be spent on setting up IT projects.
The "merged" service should save around 2m a year and the council says that it expects the move will cut "in excess" of 100 roles - which it stressed is not equivalent to the number of jobs to be lost.
Questions posed at the budget meeting asked whether the 43-strong workforce could be reduced to save costs now.
Coun Nick Worth said: "We would be jumping the gun to look at that before we know the results of the merged services."
Coun Gary Porter believes that even more merging of services will be needed in the future - and says there is scope to do it with some overlap on the work that all Lincolnshire's authorities do.
He said: "While it is not possible to reduce, to a large extent, the number of frontline workers, the administration which supports that is far too top heavy."
BLACK BAGS
*Ending the delivery of free black bags would save the authority 69,000 a year - and leader Gary Porter thinks it would be a good idea.
The move was discussed at the recent consultation meeting but while Coun Porter thinks it is the right thing to do, a recent survey revealed his view is not supported by the public.
Coun Porter believes that the bags are readily available in supermarkets at a low cost - and feels that ending the free twice-yearly supply to homes would encourage people to recycle more of their waste in green bags - which would still be free.
He said: "We used nearly a million of the green bags last year and I would like to think next year we would be having to look to find extra money because that doubles to two million.
"69,000 is 1.5 per cent on the council tax so three-fifths of this year's increase could be saved but we asked the public and they said carry on supplying them."
IN A NUTSHELL
The budget in brief:
*Council tax to rise 2.55 per cent
*Cuts planned for markets, Ayscoughfee Hall Museum
*Budget for toilets, Flower Parade and outside bodies protected
*Future plans for merged services and to look into scrapping free black bags
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Weather for Spalding
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
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