< Reducing the Cost of the Town Hall Budget Home
Conservative Group Amendment 2020/2021
| Proposal | Total Cost | Revenue Recurring Cost | Revenue One-Off Cost | Capital Cost |
| £ (m) | £ (m) | £ (m) | £ (m) | |
| 5 Hi Tech CCTV Cameras | 0.012 | 0 | 0 | 0.012 |
| 50 Electric Charging Points | 0.023 | 0 | 0 | 0.023 |
| 4 City Tree Air Filter Devices | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 |
| 200 Street Light EV Chargers | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Outdoor Gyms and Playgrounds | 0.45 | 0 | 0 | 0.45 |
| Ramsbottom Swimming Pool | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Ramsbottom 3G Pitch | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Wi-fi in Ramsbottom and Radcliffe Town Centres | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0.06 |
| Investment in Bury Market | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Castle Leisure Investment | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Purchase Gigg Lane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Increase the Pothole Fund | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Road Safety Initiatives | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Highways and Road Safety | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | 0.15 |
| Digital Investment to improve council tax and debt collection | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Investment in Civic Centres | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Commercial Property Sale | -1 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Reduce Vehicle Replacement Capital Programme | -4 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| Reduce Digital budget | -1.5 | 0 | 0 | -1.5 |
| Reduce capital budget for strategic investments | -0.4 | 0 | 0 | -0.4 |
| Queens Green Canopy | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Home Run App | 0.03 | 0 | 0.03 | 0 |
| STEM Learning Fund | 0.05 | 0 | 0.05 | 0 |
| Exam Tuition Offer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Creation of a Local Plan | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Mental Health Grants | 0.05 | 0 | 0.05 | 0 |
| Welfare Emergency Funding | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Small Business Support and Apprenticeship Scheme | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Defibrillators in each town | 0.009 | 0 | 0.009 | 0 |
| CCTV Running Costs | 0.002 | 0 | 0.002 | 0 |
| Welcome Booklet for New Residents | 0.005 | 0 | 0.005 | 0 |
| 50% reduction in rent for 3 months for Bury Market Traders | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Increase in Council tax recovery linked to system investment (0.25%) | -0.212 | -0.212 | 0 | 0 |
| Fees and Charges – Engine idling, fly tipping, littering, rationalisation of bulky fee structure | -0.012 | -0.012 | 0 | 0 |
| Fees and charges – buildings, land registry, legal | -0.016 | -0.016 | 0 | 0 |
| Reduce taxi licence fees | 0.066 | 0.066 | 0 | 0 |
| 5% Reduction in market trader fees | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 |
| £10 for missed bin collections | 0.004 | 0.004 | 0 | 0 |
| Commercial Property – loss of income due to sale | 0.052 | 0.052 | 0 | 0 |
| Establishment of VOSA MOT Testing Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Managing Green Spaces | -0.38 | -0.38 | 0 | 0 |
| Proposal | Total Cost | Revenue Recurring Cost | Revenue One-Off Cost | Capital Cost |
| £ (m) | £ (m) | £ (m) | £ (m) | |
| Free swimming pool access to school children during Sumer holidays | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| Free access to leisure centres for all serving and military veterans | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0 | 0 |
| Additional capacity to support children - 2 Educational Psychologists, 2 Occupational Therapists, 3 Mental Health Workers, 3 Councillors | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 25% reduction in council tax for foster carers | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 |
| Creation of 6 Graduate Posts | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 |
| Books for Schools | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Defibrillator running costs | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0 | 0 |
| End funding for trade union facility | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dis-establish Deputy Cabinet Members | -0.01 | -0.01 | 0 | 0 |
| Reduce Cabinet members to 7 | -0.025 | -0.025 | 0 | 0 |
| Reduce Office of the Chief Executive Budget | -0.015 | -0.015 | 0 | 0 |
| Reduction in Special Responsibility Allowances | -0.017 | -0.017 | 0 | 0 |
| Remove Chief Executive Post and replace with Managing Director Post | -0.03 | -0.03 | 0 | 0 |
| Reduce Senior Manager Costs | -0.35 | -0.35 | 0 | 0 |
| Remove Corporate Capacity Budget | -0.5 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Retain civic centres | 0.132 | 0.132 | 0 | 0 |
| Add back dimming lights option | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 |
| Continue discretionary budgets for members | 0.051 | 0.051 | 0 | 0 |
| Contribution to reserves | 0.101 | 0 | 0.101 | 0 |
| Gross Position | -0.115 | -0.426 | 1.346 | -1.035 |
| Reduce Main Precept by 0.44% | 0.381 | 0.381 | 0 | 0 |
| 1.5% Adult Social Care Precept | -1.302 | -1.302 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | -1.036 | -1.347 | 1.346 | -1.035 |
Funding the Proposals
The Capital proposals will be met as follows:
The proposed proposals will reduce the capital programme by £1.035m. A reduction on borrowing costs has not been factored in due to the fact that some additional leasing costs may be required in the event that some of the planned replacement of vehicles cannot be achieved and required leasing costs over and above those currently budgeted for. Proposals for Whitefield will be funded through the re-purposing of the Radcliffe Investment Fund. Some proposals are expected to achieve grant income/match funding including: Electric Charging Points, Street Light EV Chargers. The figures set out the net budget position.
The Gigg Lane purchase would need to be subject to appropriate due diligence and legal considerations.
The revenue proposals would be funded as follows:
Council Tax
In relation to Council Tax, it is recommended that the Bury element of the Council tax be increased by 3% of which 1.5% relates to the general precept and 1.5% relates to the adult social care levy. An additional contribution to reserves of £0.101m will see general reserves increase from £23.149m to £23.250m at the end of 2021/22. The proposals will reduce the call on reserves in future years. Options to reduce other costs within the Council may be subject formal consultation and equality impact assessments.
S151 Officer Statement (Director of Financial Transformation)
The Local Government Act 2003 places specific responsibilities on the Director of Financial Transformation and the Council’s S151 Officer, to report on the robustness of the budget and the adequacy of proposed financial reserves when the authority considering its budget requirement. The council is required to have regard to this report when it sets its budget. There are a range of other safeguards that I must consider to prevent the Local Authority from over committing itself financially, including:
• The balanced budget requirement (England, Scotland and Wales) (Sections 32, 43 and 93 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992);
• The legislative requirement for each local authority to make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs (Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972).
Given the uncertainties of economic environment and the scale of the expenditure reductions required and the growing demands on services, there are significant risks facing the council in delivering a balanced budget. In fulfilling the various responsibilities placed on me as a Chief Finance Officer, I have considered the financial risks and these are set out in the budget paper for 2021/22. I have considered the additional proposals as set out in this amendment and the financial impact these will have on the overall financial strategy. In overall terms I am of the view that this revenue budget has been prepared on realistic assumptions and that it represents a robust, albeit challenging budget.
I have also undertaken a risk analysis of the adequacy of the reserves and am confident that the projected balances of £23.2m in 2021/22 are adequate.