Cash-strapped Carlisle council told to raise money or make cuts
Last updated 13:10, Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The finance chief at Carlisle City Council has told councillors their spending plans are “unsustainable”.
Director of corporate services Angela Brown delivered the clearest warning yet that the cash-strapped authority must cut spending or raise revenue.
She told the ruling executive yesterday: “All the [spending] pressures are not sustainable under the current council budget.
“We will have to make some difficult decisions.”
The recession has already dented council fiances.
Falling interest rates mean investment income from the £31m it holds on deposit with banks and building societies is likely to fall by £500,000 next year.
Car parking revenue in 2008-9 is forecast to be £213,000 less than expected.
And a vacancy management system, designed to cut the bill by not replacing staff who leave, has not brought the savings it should have.
The council may also have to boost its pension contributions from 2011 to compensate for falls in global stockmarkets.
Mrs Brown added: “The only thing heading in the right direction is inflation, which is heading down.”
The council’s deputy leader, John Mallinson, said: “It is quite clear that spending pressures are of a magnitude that it is impossible to meet in full unless substantial alternative savings can be identified.”
Those savings may be achieved by sharing services with other local authorities.
Plans to merge the IT departments at Carlisle and Allerdale are well advanced.
The councils already share a chief executive, initially on a temporary basis, and may merge all senior management teams.
Carlisle’s executive also heard proposals to raise charges, in particular parking fees. These include across-the-board increases at pay-and-display car parks, a 12 per cent rise of an annual permit and new charges for disabled motorists.
These proposals now go before council scrutiny panels for comment before the executive considers them again in December.
Something for very little from every nearly home, business and often full (wheelie figures?)carparks. We are informed as usual at this time of year pending rate hikes that councils are short of money in an ever expanding and depite council hindrance or adversities vibrant business's in which give, now some hope in future such as Carlisle City Airport and allied business ventures whilst council waste funds (as in cancelled inner city ring road) only to lose our money on (Rickergate)project cancellation and boy o' boy they're at it again when services (dont call them that! Esp if not) all give the same excuse of no funds with self immage of poorly paid poor! mostly pensionable long service ('Long' mostly disappeared in private sector) civil servants taking the blunt for ill financed departments in the public view now just a gummy, failing nice little clean northern border city which seems just another dirty grimey british city that seems increasingly belongs to get something for nothing brigade and another time in cities cleaner pre lanes history... 200 homes/3 business's just in my one little city road/street all paying rates - something does'nt add up! Accolades to any Council staff that provide efficient returns. It decades since my work colleage's sister used to walk the cities car parks at such a frightful walking pace without the aid of four wheels and now teapot size tiny gardening carts (how many journey's?)where surely almost a long artic wagon would be more suitable.........
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It is very nice that the city is thinking ahead and we're told 'bar Christmas three months almost until next shocker - now telling us they're short of money and now plans for Caldewgate/Shaddongate to be made public in the new year...
Hopefully it will be cost effective like Carlisle Dirtbusters for chewing gum and filth around the city.Posted by Astonished city ratepayer on 1 December 2008 kl. 19:15