DELAYS & SETBACKS - TDC DRAFT BUDGET

At Thursday's TDC Cabinet meeting councillors were given the reasons for delays in presenting a draft budget for the council.
Budgets must be drawn up with consideration to the national economic context and TDC's reliance on central government grants. The government is insisting on excessive cuts and furthermore, area based grants, which Thanet so dearly needs and deserves are also being cut, in many cases completely.
Over £616,000 of cuts were detailed for 2010/11 in Thursday's report to the TDC cabinet, with the worrying proviso in the report that ‘further reductions may yet come to light’.
With regard to the next multi-year settlement councillors were told they should expect an announcement in December, but the council’s dilemma was more fully explained within the report:
A loss of 7.25% in real terms for each of the next 4 years that may even be 16% per per annum for the first 2 years!
Leader of the Opposition & Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance - Cllr Clive Hart said "The report clearly stated ‘Cuts of this level have not been seen by this council in its entire history’.
In relation to the Capital Programme, the report continued with: due to the ‘unprecedented economic context in which the Council finds itself, and the lack of information on what funding streams are likely to be, it would be inappropriate to present a budget strategy for approval at this stage, as has been the tradition in previous years.’
The delays in being given the relevant information by the ConDem government are bad enough, and I do sincerely hope TDC is making representations to central government on this matter, but the time suggested for both the draft budget presentation and council approval to take place within just 2 weeks of each other during February 2011 are extremely rushed and I do sincerely hope we can agree some flexibility on those dates".
Published by Thanet Labour Group Press Office - 44 Northdown Road, Margate, CT9 2RW.