Budget cuts put 84 council jobs at risk

MASSIVE budget cuts will see 84 council employees facing redundancy as the authority takes the first step towards saving £45 million.

The first round of cuts announced in December, 2009, proposed 80 lay-offs and efficiency savings totalling £8 million. A second round added four more staff cuts and a further £2.7 million saved.

The council has estimated that it will need to make a saving of £45 million over the next three years to enable a maximum council tax rise of 2.5 per cent.

Savings are being made by reorganising departments, stripping out layers of management, controlling the purchase of supplies and making better use of grants.

Councillors debated the newest round of cuts at a special meeting of the Performance and Value for Money Select Committee.

Proposals to save £242,000 by having manual workers, such as street cleaners, take on a number of different tasks was scrapped in a bid to keep the cleanliness of the borough at the highest level possible.

Other cuts include stripping £250,000 from the council’s security budget, cutting £50,000 from the advertising budget and taking £25,000 from the Bloom and Grow fund. Increasing fees for all services — except market rents and car parking — will generate an additional £200,000.

Councillor Kay Knox said: “None of us want to see further cuts but year-on-year we have had to cut the budget so this is just another year.

“We have been put in a position where we need to find efficiencies.”

Investments approved in December are centred around the council’s four priorities for improvement — which go under the banner of: “A Confident Place”, “A University Town”, “An Address of Choice” and “Services of Choice”.

Councillor Lynne Thompson said: “Our continuing thrust to improve services year-on-year while minimising the demands on council taxpayers has made the budget a challenging process again.

“But that is the reality of the present economic climate.

“The council has not shrunk away from the robust efficiency drive necessary to pay for the improvements we all want.”Labour criticised for late response

Labour has been criticised for publishing its opposition budget late for the second year running.

The details should have been on the council website by Friday, last week, for proper scrutiny. But Councillor Lynne Thompson, Liberal Democrat Cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “So far, all that has appeared is a covering memo, big on trumpeting Labour’s claimed credentials but containing no budget details.

“If Labour wishes to be a credible opposition, let alone a credible potential administration, it must get a grip.

“Last year, it published its proposals with one working day’s notice — four days late.

“The budget is the most fundamental matter of the entire annual calendar. Failing for the second year running to produce this report on time betrays an unforgivably cavalier attitude to the task of running the borough.”