Council will again receive less money to provide services

THE Welsh Government recently published its draft budget for 2018/19.

Bridgend Borough Council will once again receive less funding in order to provide services.

The money that the council needs to deliver services is made up of council tax, nondomestic rates and the Welsh Government Revenue Support Grant together with various targeted grants and a variety of income sources.

The targeted grant system from Welsh Government involves millions and desperately needs reforming. While the wider grant system is a way of securing more cash for specific purposes, it is absurdly inflexible and can be very costly.

Councils may have to employ staff just to apply for grants which eventually they may not secure for one reason or another. Often councils having secured a grant will find that it will either be a “one off” grant or will leave staff not knowing whether the grant will be renewed the following year.

The threat to local services and facilities such as public toilets, community centres and maintaining the fabric of community services is leaving town and community councils with difficult choices about how to save them.

It is a bitter pill to swallow when on the one hand we pay our taxes for services and then find that we have to pay again through our community taxes but with the scale of budget cuts we can’t just sit back and not act.

Unfortunately gone are the days when we can rely on the council to solve all of the problems that we experience within our communities. It’s time for us all to take responsibility for where we live and do what we can and for the borough council to think more flexibly.

You can have your say on Bridgend’s future by responding to the consultation “Shaping Bridgend’s Future” which can be accessed on the council’s website until December 3.

Alternative formats are also available on request.