Council tax in East Renfrewshire may increase by 8% to address a £7m budget shortfall and protect key services.
Tax increases should add £5.4 million. Council leader O’Donnell says things look better now. They aim to protect valued community services. The council also wants to invest in residents’ priorities. Savings and reserves will cover the remaining shortfall.
Cutting culture/leisure funding saves around £390,000. This also includes two vacant education job cuts. Councillors approved other savings earlier, totaling £1.23 million. Reducing brown bin pickups saves £356,000, and will occur every other week.
The council plans to invest £1 million in buying back old homes. This helps address the housing emergency. They’ll spend £3.5 million more on roads too, as part of a larger £15 million plan started last year. Apprentices will get a real living wage of £12.60 per hour beginning in April. The current apprentice rate is sometimes lower.
The council is developing a credit union for residents’ banking, which is crucial since the last local bank closed recently. The health and social care partnership will get £1.6 million. O’Donnell hopes for cross-party support for these budget plans.
He feels positive about the future for the first time; past years were hard, but this looks better. The council received better funding this year. But many years of earlier cuts still affect them. They are cautious, but avoided deeper cuts. There will be no forced job losses; no one will be directly affected by these savings.
The leisure trust faces a £200,000 management fee cut. Vacant education support roles will not be filled either, saving £190,000. O’Donnell says they functioned well without those roles and believes the leisure trust can manage the cut since they have some money saved.
O’Donnell supports the government allowing tax increases, stating local councillors should make these financial decisions. An 8% rise avoids further service cuts. A Band D household would pay £1,528.44 before water. Water charges will increase by 9.9%, bringing the total cost to £2,128.83.
A special reserve fund can cover the last £385,000 because of past government policy. The UK government gave them £2.3 million relating to a manufacturer recycling initiative.
Employer national insurance hikes will cost the council £1.4 million. Yet, council leader O’Donnell says they are still in a better position. Other savings of £840,000 come from cutting education roles, affecting janitors, cleaners, and crossing guards.The council reduced brown bin collection frequency.
O’Donnell states the garden waste service remains top tier. Citizens Advice might receive an extra £50,000 to aid residents in getting entitled money. Community grants could increase by £100,000 too. Plans for out-of-school care at Isobel Mair School progress well; work on a Balgray rail station should begin soon. They predict budget gaps of £5 million annually, assuming around a 3% council tax rise for the next two years.