Museum, menus and overtime options
A total of 42 budget options are included in the proposals - some involving cuts or redesign of services and others which hope to generate income for the council.
Council staff could see all but essential overtime cut.
Grass cutting services could themselves be cut back and community “deep cleans”stopped.
And Stirling’s Smith Art Gallery and Museum could see funding cut by £242,000 between 2021 and 2023, with sports providers Active Stirling potentially being asked to save £430.000 over the next five years by increasing income and whilst widening their reach.
Reducing menu choices for school meals could save £55,000 over the next five years, while cutting the numbers of central support staff in the council’s education team may save £100,000, Another £50,000 could be saved in the Educational Psychology Service, with psychologists spending part of their week with outreach teachers and support workers in schools with“multi-agency locality teams”in a bid to mitigate the impact of the cut.
Restructuring the council’s Safer, Connected Communities Service - which among other things deals with issues such as anti-social behaviour - could save £100,000. And a review of payments to third sector organisations is being considered to save £200,000 by 2023.
Among income generation options are increased parking charges - including implementing charges in facilities which are currently free and charging the council’s own staff for parking next to several council office buildings.
Installation of solar canopies at The Peak and Castleview Park and Ride to generate renewable energy for electric vehicles and sale to the National Grid could make the council £139,000 although there could be one-of capital costs of £1.7 million involved in the project.
In total the capital costs of many of the proposed options - such as investing in the private rented sector, taking over the running of the Wellgreen multi-storey car park, expanding the Lower Polmaise recycling site and developing the Station Square - could be as much as £8.4 million over the next five years. Officials point out, however, that some of the costs could be included in the Stirling City Region Deal and would yield greater benefits over and above the budget savings.
Telecare charges could be increased by 66 pence a week for those who already pay for the service. Sub-contracting some council services and expertise out to other agencies and local authorities is another option being proposed to generate funds, including its roads barrier and repair service. Generating cash by allowing advertising on council buildings, roundabouts and vehicles is another possibility.