Budget Cuts for 2016
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In the consultation document there is only one option when it comes a Council tax increase , a 5% rise. I wonder if the Council will accede to the public’s demand if we all vote against the proposal?
What if we put forward additional savings the same amount as the increase in Rates would generate- would the rise still go ahead
The more people who fill in the consultation , the more the Council should take notice. Don’t forget you don’t have to answer any of the general questions at the end about age, ethnicity and the like, just click through to the end and submit.
On previous threads on cuts and budgets, the total spend of the Council was listed, about £230m, proposing that each of about twelve lines of the budget were debated in public, and the budget completely restructured. There are millions of pounds going into various parts of the Council’s work and affairs which could be spent in a different way. One example, in other organisations, only 4 to 6 people would make day to day decisions on expenditure, and report monthly, quarterly and annually on progress of delivery. Here, with councillors and senior officers and heads of departments, this must be 60 to 100 people paid people, and all the support required in people and buildings.
As a former employee of WCBC that was based in the town centre can I please make it clear that only a minority of staff have free parking – naturally it’s the higher paid staff that are allocated spaces while those on lower wages have to pay themselves. In theory this is because those at higher grades are more likely to be ‘essential’ car users. However our managers had spaces allocated though they only left the office on council business requiring a car once in a blue moon whereas a colleague who travelled almost daily as part of her job was not considered an ‘essential car user’ so had to pay herself. This needs looking at – but not by the managers who naturally want to retain their parking spaces!
Some time ago it was suggested that a small pool of spaces and /or company cars were reserved for those needing to use a car on a given day, the remainder of spaces being freed up for other use. I think this system has been successfully trialled in Flintshire, but I haven’t heard anything more about it being implemented in Wrexham.Now the Executive Board have an idea to pay a £4,000 plus Vat subscription to set up “Hive” funding so we can crowd fund projects! Have they forgotten they already want to add an extra 5% to our Council Tax bills, pay extra for most services they still provide and still see the NEED to provide free parking in a a weekly exclusive car park for all Councillors and some selected officers! There is still potential, within the Council’s Budget and asset management, to save and create income without asking the public to crowd fund projects.
Budget Cuts (in services) are necessary when incomings are not matched by outgoings…..that is obvious. I would just like to widen this debate and warn the good folk of Wrexham about the likely implications of the movement from people selling things in the various Markets and paying Rents from the profits derived, to a more Arts based set-up. A good example is the Peoples Market…..which has paid its way throughout this difficult period…….and is still paying its way. A likely change of emphasis will create a situation where grant dependency will become the order of the day (from the Arts Council or the lottery).
Whilst veiled losses might not bother many people, it is a decision that has major implications over time……IF the funds dry up……which in the current climate is ever so likely.
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