TOWN Hall spending of more than £135 million in the coming year will be recommended by Warrington Borough Council’s executive board when it meets tomorrow.
This will require a 2.4 per cent rise in council tax – which will mean an increase of £26.64 for the average Band D house.
Savings – some of them controversial – of £14.4 million have been identified, although council chiefs say some £8.2 million of these will not effect front line services.
The budget recommendations will be put to a meeting of the full council on March 1.
They follow consultation with residents, community groups, trade unions, political parties, the Primary Care Trust and businesses.
A total of 463 responses were received, of which 263 were individual responses and 200 via a signed petition.
Feedback on the 2.4 increase in council tax was largely supportive, the council says, with the majority of respondents recognising that in the current economic climate, the increase was reasonable.
But there was significant opposition to five proposed cutbacks.
1. Proposals to close the Stockton Heath and Woolston community recycling centres.
2. Reductions in the ranger service – which attracted protests from 250 residents.
3. Cutbacks on support for bus services on Sundays, of an evening and on rural services.
4. Ending the consumer advice service and redirecting residents to the Citzen’s Advice Bureau.
5. A review of council support for swimming squads – opposed by 105 people.
Members of the executive board may amend proposals in the light of feedback from the public when they meet tomorrow (Thursday) and the final decisions will be made by the full council on March 1.
TOWN Hall spending of more than £135 million in the coming year will be
recommended by Warrington Borough Council's executive board when it
meets tomorrow.
Council to spend £135 million
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
13 Comments
Could someone tell me what was last years spend or how to find out?
So we can compare?
where does the money go…oh £21,000 to make a chimney 20ft shorter over a weekend.
hell good work if you can get it what was that £50 a brick… I would have hapily done it one brick at a time for that.
We should be getting a rebate when you take into account the complete hash they made over the snowy period; with impassable roads, no recycling collections, no bin collections and paying binmen to stand around waiting for the odd idiot to turn up to a pre-arranged location (if you had the internet to find out where it was of course) and help someone take a bin bag out of the car and put it in a bin wagon. They should have been parking the wagon up at the closest point and walking the streets and collecting the rubbish…. that is what they are paid to do isn’t it?
The figure of £135 million (net revenue budget) is somewhat misleading, the actual spend will be £441 million (gross revenue budget), the lower figure is arrived at by taking the higher figure and deducting from it income (grants) received for example from central government.
Regarding comparing previous year’s spending you need to look at the full set of accounts:
http://www.warrington.gov.uk/images/Final%20Accounts_tcm15-39446.pdf
Paul, thank you for the link.
The figures were based on the council’s own budget document – the only thing it didn’t include was the education spending which would actually take the amount above the figure your are quoting.
The figures that I have been given for each Directorate are as follows (£000):
Assistant Chief Executive 71,136
Children & Young People 186,991
Neighbourhood & Community 93,107
Environment & Regeneration 64,730
People & Improvement 9,533
Corporate Financing 15,576
My pleasure, I hope that it is helpful
Paul, just downloaded the pdf from the council website as your link, but just being a normal member of the public, I am being dazzled with figures, the Glossary of Terms made more sense.
I do understand what you mean CB, they are statutory accounts so by their very nature they are complicated, and getting more so as the rules change. You might find that the best tables to look at are the Group Income & Expenditure Account (P88 ), and Group Balance Sheet (P90).
“They follow consultation with residents, community groups………….” What consultations???
Paul, wouldn’t it be easier for us simple folk, to have a coloumn for money in and money out so we could see clearly what was owed or what’s profit
at the end of the accounts document, otherwise it looks like formula to knot fog.
Thank you for taking time to respond to my comment.
i have never heard so much moaning regarding refuse collections. we all pay £62 a year for 3 recycling collections great value for money. I would sooner read in the Guardian non collections of bins than a little kid killed by a 26 ton vehicle. so baz
GROW UP FOR GODS SAKE.