Unfilled posts lets council save £3m but pressure still on services savings
Council officers have been credited with achieving nearly £1m of savings with the local authority now projecting to underspend last year’s revenue budget by more than £3m due mostly to posts being left unfilled.
Depute leader Murray Lyle announced at a meeting last week it was anticipated that actions taken by officials since last February’s budget, like improving its debt recovery service, raising recycling rates and installing cheaper street lighting, would allow the council to save at least £958,000 in 2017/18.
But a report presented to the council’s strategic policy and resources committee last Wednesday revealed projected underspends on staff across all its departments accounted for much of its total predicted £3.224m underspend this financial year.
It said education and children’s services expects to spend £1,732m less on staff in addition to several services within housing and community safety spending less due to vacancies such as housing (£161,000), finance and support services (£197,000), strategic planning and commissioning (£15,000), learning and development (£68,000) and community safety (£82,000).
The report added the environment service expects a further £400,000 will not be spent because of staff slippage “predominantly derived from accelerated voluntary severance savings” while it is said further slippages in corporate and democratic services also means less money will be spent by legal services (£65,000) and IT (£100,000).
Elsewhere the document revealed a further £315,000 has not been spent because of slippage on“a number of infrastructure projects including the Aberfeldy flood study [and the] River Ericht riverbank works”as well as“the rephasing of CCTV City Operations Centre project”.
Presenting the paper to the committee for noting Councillor Lyle commented:“I think [this report] further underlines this council’s reputation for sound financial management.
“I want to place on record my thanks to all the services for their continued application in achieving these significant projected underspends. It shows that we continue to apply rigorous financial management across this council.
“Many of these projected underspends will feature in the revenue budget flexibility proposals that the council will consider at the special meeting of the council [later this month].”