16 GRANT SETTLEMENT Council play waiting game on new budget
Meeting set for today
South Lanarkshire Council hope to hear in the next few days about their grant settlement from the Scottish Government.
The local authority have earmarked cuts of over £22 million to balance the books in 2016/17.
Councillors are due to discuss the budget proposals at an executive meeting today.
But the East Kilbride News understands the item is likely to be continued until the grant settlement is concluded.
Officers believe that could be as early as this week.
A savings package was originally put to councillors last month.
They included the potential loss of 282 jobs.
Speaking after the cuts package was revealed, council leader Eddie McAvoy said he expected the Scottish Government to cut their grant from last year.
He added: “The proposals going before the executive committee have been developed by council officers based on the potential savings we might be forced to make.
“These are just options at the moment but we are legally obliged to balance our budget, so if any proposals in the package are rejected we need to find other ways to save the money.
“Councillors will ultimately have to make those tough decisions but I want local people to let us know what they think too.”
A number of groups and organisations which rely on council funding are anxiously waiting on budget news.
The £22.64m savings have been reduced from the £35m first estimated as the council have utilised the £3.5m underspend from 2015/16, £1.5m in reserves and taken £4m from the capital fund/capital receipts reserve.
Increased income from council tax has also generated an additional £1m. The council must set their budget by March 11.