‘We have narrowly avoided being a bankrupt council’ was the ominous warning from the leader of Worthing Borough Council during the setting of the budget for 2023/24.
Dr Beccy Cooper spoke during a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (February 21) about ‘a legacy of complacency’ inherited from the Tories, who lost control of the council in May, and ‘continuing underfunding of local government’ by central government.
While the budget was successfully balanced – as required by law – Dr Cooper said the position halfway through the year had been ‘very serious indeed’.
She added:
“Our work this year has been set against a backdrop of severe financial constraints.
“Our inherited budget position was one where no attempts had been made to fix the roof while the sun was shining.”
She told the meeting that budget planning for 2023/24 has been undertaken ‘in a fiscally responsible manner ensuring that we cut our cloth wisely’.
Describing the efforts of officers to find savings and ‘squeeze efficiencies out of an organisation that was already wrung dry’, she said:
“At the end of this process, the black hole for 2022/23 that will need to be met from our under-funded reserves is likely to be £2.1m.”
Such a move will see the council’s reserves plummet to £300,000.
The net revenue budget for 2023/24 – which covers the day-to-day running of the council – was set at £14,188,940.
The issue of council tax prompted quite a debate, with the Tories proposing a freeze for the coming year, and Noel Atkins (Con, Salvington) declaring: “People out there are hurting.”
It was pointed out to him, though, that last week he had voted for an increase of more than £77 to the county council’s portion of the bill.
In the end, an increase of 2.99 per cent was agreed, which will take the borough’s portion of a Band D council tax bill up to £259.92.
The £5 minimum council tax charge was scrapped – a move criticised by the Tories, who said it effectively removed £500,000 from the county council’s budget and £80,000 from the Sussex Police budget.
The evening’s debate proved to be heated at times, with the chairman more than once calling for people to show respect.
The phrase ‘economic whack-a-mole’ was used, with the Conservatives being accused of shouting ‘put out that fire!’ to fires ‘they started’.
Kevin Jenkins (Con, Goring) accused the administration of being ‘determined to choke the new life out of Worthing’.
He said residents would be ‘disappointed’ by the budget, adding:
“People don’t want to hear excuses but want to hear from this council what you’re going to do to help them and improve their daily lives.”
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