Stirling Council’s 2023/24 budget has been approved, including a seven per cent increase in council tax.
Among cuts to plug a £17million funding gap are the phasing out of school crossing patrols and closure of buildings including the Cowane Centre.
Other measures include scrapping the free special uplift for the over-60s, raising nursery fees for non-statutory childcare from £3.90 an hour to £4.50 an hour, changes to nursery provision in Fintry and Aberfoyle, reducing grants to a number of organisations and bodies, and slashing school meal choices.
At the council budget meeting last Thursday Tory councillors backed the minority Labour administration to get the budget over the line, as did independent councillor and former Labour group member Ewan Dillon.
Opposition SNP councillors had presented an alternative budget, proposing a five per cent council tax rise, however failed to get any backing outwith their own members.
Council officials had said existing pressures had been made worse by the cost of living crisis, Scottish Government ringfencing and rising energy costs.
During the debate, veteran councillor and finance convener Councillor Margaret Brisley said local government was “in danger of disappearing” and that councils should not be treated as “merely a delivery vehicle for Scottish Government priorities”.
Council leader, Labour’s Chris Kane, meanwhile, said he could “weep” over the budget presented and the cuts coming down the line, adding that the decisions which had to be made in the process had been “horrendous and absolutely horrible”.
But he said the only difference between the Labour and the SNP budgets was “when the cuts will be made” and that he “hated” every cut.
SNP finance spokesperson Gerry McLaughlan, however, described the Labour budget as a “shambles”.
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Tory group leader Councillor Neil Benny said the SNP had failed to look into future years and added: “There’s a lot of stuff in here that I wouldn’t do - but there’s a need for councillors to sit round the table and talk.”
On top of the council’s £260m spending to run key services like education, waste, roads and social care, additional funding for a wide range of projects will be delivered through the re-profiling of payments for PPI/PPP contracts. These include: £1.5m to accelerate the impact of economic development and to enhance the opportunities of the City Region Deal projects; £1.3m Community Empowerment and Capacity Fund to support local people and groups to “maximise ambitions” in their communities; £3m to help the council to “invest in the redesign of activities that will reduce running costs and support financial sustainability”; and £200,000 to top up the Scottish Welfare Fund that provides a safety net for people on low income.
Through the council’s capital programme £37m will be invested including £10.98m to enhance schools and other education settings; £6.23m for road and infrastructure improvements; £1.7m for IT and digital transformation; and £11.5m for City Region Deal projects.
A further £1m will be funded through borrowing to improve the area’s roads and pavements.
However, it is the savings of almost £6.5m across all service areas which may be of most concern. These also include the closure of several council buildings and Springkerse Park and Ride as well as a reduction in grants to several external organisations.
The rest of the savings will be made up by the seven per cent council tax rise, the use of earmarked reserves (£5.35m) and re-profiling repayments for PPI/PPP contracts (£3.71m).
Petition grows over increase in allotment fees
More than 100 people have signed a petition in a bid to halt a massive increase in fees for Bridge of Allan allotment holders.
The Cornton Road site tenants and residents say the increases are “excessive and unreasonable” and effectively amount to a more than 300 per cent increase in rents for 2023/24 and the ending of concession rates for OAPs and those on benefits.
The Stirling Council area has four allotment sites. The Cornton Road site is operated by the council and is the only one to which the increased charges will apply. This is said to be in a bid for “full cost recovery” rather than a money-making exercise.
The other tree allotment sites have all formed associations and lease the ground from the council. They have been able to offer cheaper fees to their users.
The Cornton Road allotment holders are said to now be considering forming their own cooperative to manage the allotments if their efforts to get the rent increase reduced to “something more reasonable” and to have concession rates restored fail.
Ronald Don, who initiated the petition, said: “Under the proposals our current joint rent of £126.50 would be increased by 327 per cent to £540. This they say is to ensure full cost recovery.
“I would like to audit the various costs as we were expecting a decrease in costs as last year the grass was only cut properly once and the tip only emptied twice. We did not expect concession rates for pensioners to be abolished as is in the proposals. Nothing was done to maintain fencing or road access and the water was turned off and on by allotment holders.
“If there are 30+ allotments on site £10,000 seems an extortionate price for the services provided and the administrative costs associated with maintaining a register, billing and collecting fees. We could employ someone for 50 per cent of their time with such an income and get better service than at present.
“The rent increase is way above inflation and the increases in other recreational services and we believe it is illegal under section 10(1) Allotment Act 1950 as per the Tenancy Agreement.”
Green councillor Alasdair Tollemache said: “I am particularly disturbed by the massive increase in the charges for the allotments.
“On all counts it is wrong - environmental, mental health and sustainability - with a total lack of consultation. I support the allotment holders in challenging this.”
Struggling museum axes hires
Stirling Smith’s Art Gallery and Museum is to close the building for evening hires, partly blaming a £4000 reduction in its funding from Stirling Council.
And they say that, while an option to close the museum to the public for an extra day a week was shelved, that may have to be reconsidered going forward.
The £4000 decrease, approved in Thursday’s council budget, saw the annual core grant reduced to £258,000 a year.
However, the museum trustees suggested it was the latest in a series of challenges.
In a statement, they said they appreciated the “difficult choices” the council had to make but added: “This reduction comes at the end of a period where our real terms budget has dropped 64 per cent since 2010. Our core grant has been static, for a considerable number of years which has in reality meant an incremental cut to our operating budget of £168,000.
“Dedication and frugality have effectively masked this position for some time but this has been at the expense of the museum itself.
“The electrical system is not fit for purpose and the heating system is not functional in parts of the building which put the collections at risk.
“Our small team produce high quality work with minimal resource but we are now struggling to deliver core activity due to increased operating costs.
“These two issues combined mean that as charity trustees we also have to make difficult but responsible choices.”
The building will close for hires in the evening from June 1 onwards, with the trustees saying the combined costs of opening the building and staffing mean it is not economically viable and places and an “additional burden on our small team to manage”.
A research fee is also being introduced for organisations and those living outside of Stirling Council area where it requires staff time to deliver.
They added: “We have made the choice not to close to the public for an additional day per week for the time being but intend to keep that situation under review.
“The trustees will continue to look at income diversification as a priority and seek funding for what are now emergency fabric repairs.
“As trustees our primary duty is to the safe stewardship of the collection and to our staff. The Smith is a nationally and internationally significant repository of collections and the collective memory of Stirling and surrounding areas.
The added: “We passionately believe that a city such as Stirling deserves a facility that shares our collective stories to the world and also brings the world to Stirling and hope that these new measures can in the future be reconsidered.”
Savings will hit elderly services
Independent councillor Alasdair Macpherson has described the removal of free special uplifts for over 60s and an increase in the charge for an emergency response service as “despicable”.
Removal of special uplifts for over 60s will generate £19,000 of savings and increasing the charge for the MECS service from £3.30 to £3.80 per week will generate an additional £30,000 of income.
However, the Bannockburn ward councillor says this is a “pittance” in the scale of a budget of more than £200million, and that MECS is a “lifeline” for the sick and vulnerable in Stirling.
“The Labour Party should hang their heads in shame,” said Councillor Macpherson. “They and their Tory coalition partners balanced the budget by making savings of £39,000 in a £200m budget by attacking services which are vital to our pensioners, sick and disabled. They are utterly despicable.”
Other increases in adult social care service charges include the meals service increasing from £3.30 to £3.60 per meal, lunch clubs rising from £3.20 to £3.50 per meal and homecare and day support from £13.10 to £14.40 per hour.
