- Wednesday March 10th, 2010
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City Council slashes £3m from budget
But the council insists that these measures are actually forward thinking, and preparing for a bigger blow next year when government grants are announced in spring.
Chief Executive, Colin Carmichael, stated that the Government grants represented “30 per cent of [their] income. Significant reductions will give us huge difficulties and cause a dire predicament if we don't act now. Running a council is like steering an oil tanker. We have to anticipate change and take avoiding action in advance.”
The cuts planned, are to sort out the Council’s economic situation over next two years. Mr Carmichael said: "This is about protecting the essential services we must provide by law and making services used by minorities, such as bulky waste collection, pay for themselves."
So what does this actually mean for you? We’ve broken down the jargon to make it a bit easier on your eyes…
Tourism –saving £130,500
Plans are to stop all brochures and stick information on the council's website instead.
The Canterbury Visitor Centre, in Buttermarket, will be turned into a bigger shop. The original plans to sell it were stopped when the 20-year lease, and penalty get-out clauses, were discovered.
Jobs - saving £900,000
Last year the council lost 33 jobs, mainly through not filling vacancies. This year a further 23 have gone.
Next year 22 posts won’t be filled and 30 will be lost through voluntary retirements and compulsory redundancies saving £900,000.
Christmas Lights – saving £42,000
Christmas is banned (no, we’re not kidding). It currently costs £80,000 to put up and repair lights in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. From this year the council is getting cheaper, longer lasting LED lights, which will stay up all year round and can be used for summer festivals as well.
Carmichael said he was also encouraging “shops to provide their own displays. The cost of putting lights up and down has become prohibitive with the working heights directive. We can't just put up a ladder now. We have to pay for scaffolding."
Whatever happened to the Christmas spirit eh?
One local resident voiced their opinion stating that "the council says other towns are having to do the same but it's our council tax and it is up to us how we spend it."
Museums – saving £112,600
Three of the council's six museums are to be closed.
Tick off the Westgate Towers, currently open one day a week, and The Roman Museum in Canterbury and don't forget the Herne Bay Museum in William Street.
Chief Executive Colin Carmichael said: "It is almost impossible to get into the Westgate museum because it is so small although we will continue to open it on heritage days because it is an ancient monument.
"The Roman pavement is an ancient monument in the Roman Museum in Longmarket, Butchery Lane but we'd like the premises be used as a restaurant so people can sit and eat and look at the pavement."
Parking – earning £266,000
Income from car parking has plunged by £1 million. The council's introducing hourly rates, now up to 9pm in Canterbury and 8pm on the coast, but abandoning the overnight charges. It’s also planning to introduce parking charges for Herne Bay seafront, for the first time between April to September with 20p for 20 minutes and £1.20 for two hours. That will bring in an extra £30,000.
Recycling sacks - saving £30,000
Homes will only receive one free roll of 17 clear recycling sacks. All others will cost £2. Mr
Carmichael said: "There is evidence that not all recycling sacks are being used for recycling but we need to find a solution for genuine recyclers."
Herne Bay Liberal Democrat, Cllr Ron Flaherty said: "This is madness. It will encourage people to throw everything into landfill sites and ruin everything previous administrations have fought for."
Whitstable Council Office – saving £26,500
According to the council, these district offices in Harbour Street are old, badly designed and poorly used. It suggests selling the premises and moving services, which include tourist information, receiving council tax payments, showing off plans and handing out free recycling sacks.
Sport – saving £19,900
Active Life, which runs the district's municipal sports halls and swimming pools, has had its subsidy reduced but will make-up the cuts by investing in more economical boilers and installing covers on pools to retain heat. Maintenance on football pitches will be cut back forcing some clubs to reschedule games. Funding for sporting events will also be cut.
Toilets – saving £72,000
Six of the 40 toilets currently spread out across the county will be shut. Proposed closures are the Blue Anchor at Seasalter; Wincheap; St John's Road at Swalecliffe; Market Street, Herne Bay; Sturry and Chartham. The council says they are expensive to run because they need cleaning twice a day and dangerous items such as uses syringes must be removed.
Events – earning £27,000
Organisers of events will have to pay for council time, in ensuring safety regulations are complied with, ranging from £20 for charities to £200 for commercial events.
Westgate Hall – saving £71,500
Instead of spending £400,000 bringing Canterbury's Westgate Hall up to standard, the council wants to demolish it and use the space to provide 50 car parking spaces for the new-look Marlowe Theatre. More events will be encouraged to use the Kings Hall at Herne Bay.
The cost of dying – earning £18,000
For the privilege of pushing up the daisies, you’ll now face increased fees for plots and reduced maintenance.
Publicity – saving £13,500
District Life, a quarterly magazine which tells tax-payers what their money is being spent on will be cut back to two editions a year.
If you've made it to the end of the list, then good on you. Why not let the Council know your thoughts, click here to tell them what you think. All comments must be received before the 18th December.
