South Wales Evening Post - 8 December 2008
Council bosses in Swansea are bracing themselves for a £14 million shortfall in next year’s budget.
Service cuts and voluntary redundancies are among the moves being considered to bridge the funding gap.
In light of the bleak prognosis, the authority has said it is now looking for feedback on how best to balance its books.
The council is expecting a below- inflation budget increase of three per cent from the Assembly, and, at the same time, the authority is facing rising energy costs and falling interest rates.
Now, a £14 million gap exists between the council’s expected income and its initial spending plans for 2009 to 2010.A report set to go before the council’s cabinet on Thursday Dec 11 outlines the options available to achieve a balanced budget.
These include a four per cent spending reduction across services, restricting spending across all budgets and increasing income.
Another savings strategy being put forward is to reduce staffing costs by only filling essential posts and merging posts by voluntary redundancy.
Stuart Rice, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, explained that councils had also been hit by the difficult economic climate the country currently finds itself in.
“Families have been hit by higher bills and falling income, and the councilhas been affected in the same way,” he said.
Mr Rice added they were keen to get feedback on the best way forward.
“We have already identified a number of options for reducing our costs, but we’d like to get the views of interested parties before we finalise these options early in the new year,” he said.
Council leader Chris Holley said the authority was committed to avoiding further compulsory redundancies, but added: “All the forecasts suggest Government spending in the public sector is going to be very tight in years to come, which means the council’s budget will be under even more pressure in the future.”
Mr Holley revealed that three-quarters of the council’s budget goes towards staffing and said: “We can reduce these costs by not replacing staff that leave, by merging posts through voluntary retirement and not filling vacancies.”
Feedback on the savings options is required by Friday, January 9, and the council’s Finance Audit and Business Improvement Scrutiny Board will review the emerging options on Wednesday, January 14.
The 2009/10 budget will be considered by council on February 23.
