Tempers raised over ‘waste’ as tax hike set CALL TO SELL OFF COUNCIL BUILDINGS AS ISLAND’S BILLS INCREASE BY 4.5%
TEMPERS flared over selling off unused council buildings and accusations of council wastage during Anglesey’s budget meeting which saw members approve a 4.5% tax hike.
Councillors approved the 2020/21 budget which will see the average “Band D” household pay an extra £1.08 a week or £56.16 a year to try and balance the books.
Despite the authority receiving an extra 3.8% from Cardiff Bay next year, the finance chief was critical of the decision making process which results in Anglesey being among the worst faring authorities in terms of central government finance.
Comparing the situation with neighbouring Gwynedd, which will receive an extra 4.6% from Cardiff Bay, Cllr Robin Williams said that had Anglesey received a similar increase – equivalent to £800,000 – they would have proposed a 2.5% rather than 4.5% hike.
Despite this, Cllr Williams was adamant that bills on Anglesey remain the second lowest in North Wales, after Wrexham, and almost £100 a year cheaper than Gwynedd.
A later item also rubber stamped a reduction in the senior leadership team, resulting in the cutting of the senior officers budget by £300,000.
But critical of council wastage, the leader of the opposition urged the ruling group to be more proactive in disposing of assets, naming several closed primary schools as well as Llangefni’s Plas Penlan residential home and former golf course as examples of properties that should be being sold.
“Ynys Môn is not a rich area and this above infla- tion rise is just the latest in a line of increases that people have faced, including community council and police precepts,”said Cllr Bryan Owen, of Anibynnwyr Môn.
“And what of the wastage that is going on here? We have not received value for money for the former golf course land, Plas Penlan has been boarded up for over a year and is worth £250,000 on its own.
“And what of our schools, and the costs of consulting back and forth on school closures in Llangefni and Beaumaris? We have empty schools in Bodorgan, Dwyran, Newborough and Llangaffo, and I know that Ysgol Bodorgan is costing us £15,000 a year to keep it closed.
“If the same is the case at the other schools, that’s £60,000 a year that the council is wasting instead of placing them on the market and selling them off.
“We can’t afford to waste money like this and place the burden on ratepayers.”
In response, Cllr Williams noted that the golf course and Plas Penlan were both part of ongoing public consultations but that the authority had a responsibility to not “flood the market” and receive the best possible price for such assets.
Following the decision, council leader Llinos Medi said: “We continue to face intense budget pressures in adult services and schools as well as ever increasing costs. Unfortunately, one improved year for local government funding will do little to paper over the cracks of the lack of investment seen over many years.
“I would like to thank the full council for supporting this budget. It will, I believe, ensure that we are making the most of the limited funding we have to safeguard vital services under pressure and meet our long term priorities for the island and its residents.”