Parties given chance to submit budget

LEADERS of all the political parties on Dundee City Council have been given until February 15 to submit their budget proposals to the council’s chief executive David Martin.

A special meeting of the policy and resources committee will then be held on February 23 at which councillors will vote for the budget proposals they support.

Union chiefs will also be given the chance to have their say on what cuts should be made and where.

The proposals will include what council tax rise — if any — should be implemented for 2017/18.

The £12.5 million worth of savings is based on assumptions following the Scottish Government’s budget announcement in December.

The local government finance settlement saw a reduction for councils across Scotland of £350m — or 3.5%.

A report by Marjory Stewart, the council’s executive director of corporate services, said: “The savings requirement of £12.5m is predicted on the assumption that the council agrees to the full package of measures related to the local government finance settlement (although it should be noted that any increase in council tax levels by up to 3% is at the discretion of councils and is not mandatory)”.

“It is stressed that officers are still examining the details of the grant settlement and refining the assumptions and figures in the provisional 2017/18 revenue budget.”