West Dunbartonshire Council sets it's annual budget

Feb 5 2010 by Marc Mclean, Lennox Herald (main ed)

MORE police, frontline services protected, and council tax frozen for the third year on the trot.

Just some of the key promises made by West Dunbartonshire Council last week as the SNP budget was voted through.

None of the ‘big hit’ money-saving options, such as closing libraries and care homes, were taken as the council found various ways to plug its £2.2m budget deficit.

However, trade union activists protested outside the Garshake council HQ over other cuts they claim are unnecessary.

Spending priorities for 2010/11 included setting aside an extra £150,000 for road and footway repairs required due to this year’s severe winter.

The pot of money for small voluntary groups has increased from £93,000 to £113,000, while £50,000 will be invested into a financial scheme to assist parents struggling to pay the new childcare charges.

A pledge of £100,000 towards policing is also aimed at enlisting more full-time cops in West Dunbartonshire.

Councillor Craig McLaughlin, the council’s finance convener, said: “The budget gap this year, whilst smaller, was still a challenge.

“We’ve achieved this budget by protecting frontline services. The real challenge comes next year where it’s going to be extremely difficult due to the cuts being made in funding faced by the public sector.”

He added: “We are already working towards next year’s budget and the significant challenges it presents.

“As a direct result, this year’s budget does not contain reckless or headline-grabbing spending commitments as we see the need to tighten our belts.”

The SNP budget includes a plan to improve recycling rates by 50 per cent over the next three years, which will almost certainly see fortnightly green and blue bin collections.

The council’s non-essential spending freeze will also be continued in a bid to save over £500,000.

Councillor David McBride, finance convener for the opposition Labour Group, tabled a budget which promised to cut the recently introduced council service charges in half from October.

Labour also offered to increase the minimum wage for council workers to £7 per hour, and insisted they would create a ‘strategic investment fund’ for future spending priorities and to stabilise the council.

Councillor McBride said: “My budget builds for the future and brings fairness to those burdened by the SNP service tax.”

However, the SNP budget won through on an 11-8 vote.