The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Residents likely to be hit with 3% tax hike
Plans to raise council tax, axe 600 jobs and bring in street parking charges
Angus residents are expected to be hit with a 3% increase in council tax when the local authority sets its budget on Thursday.
Around 600 full-time posts out of an estimated 5,000 jobs will be axed over the next three years, and it is proposed that on-street parking charges are introduced across the county by September.
Angus Council leader Bob Myles and finance convener Angus Macmillan Douglas outlined the stark realities facing the council at a briefing in Forfar yesterday.
The council is facing a funding shortfall of just over £18 million – the largest ever – with £33m being cut from the budget in the past.
It is proposed £10.3m of savings will be achieved through change programme activity; £4.6m by curtailing capital spending to reduce loan charges; £0.6m from existing uncommitted reserves and £1.1m from adjustments to committed reserves.
Savings of £3.3m have been identified from the Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, £760,000 from changes to school staffing and a reduction in the music instruction service.
There is a proposed reduction for winter maintenance of £104,000.
A further shortfall of around £26m is projected for 2019-21 and steps have already been put in place to prepare for this.
The proposed 3% increase in council tax is expected to generate an additional £1.5m and the introduction of parking charges will raise £700,000 a year.
Mr Myles, an Independent councillor for Brechin and Edzell, said: “With the reduction in grant coming from the Scottish Government it is becoming increasingly more difficult to deliver all the services we have done in the past.
“We have tried to do the best we can to alleviate any impositions on our council tax payers but again the council tax payers have had a tax freeze for a long time now and the word we are getting back from some of them is that they would happily pay a little more if they were getting the services.”
Angus Macmillan Douglas, Conservative councillor for Kirriemuir and Dean, said when the administration came to power last May its major objective was to improve the efficiency of the way Angus Council did its business.
It could either cut its services “to the bone” or improve efficiency and productivity.
He said: “We decided we would go flat out to help officers to improve the productivity of Angus Council.”
In addition to the education services, the authority is also about to embark on a major consultation over a schools estate programme aimed at making best use of “scarce resources”, but which has brought with it the prospect of small primary schools closing.
The council tax payers have had a tax freeze for a long time now.
COUNCIL LEADER BOB MYLES