Road safety, buses, leisure services and waste on hit list
Proposals put forward by Clackmannanshire Council officers to plug the £11 million funding gap include :
SOCIAL WORK
Reducing number of young people placed in residential schools outwith Clackmannanshire, saving £300,000 in 2019/20.
Invest in in-house Foster Care Service saving £60,000 in each of the next three years.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Stop subsidising buses – This would see the council stopping subsidising the C1 and C2 services. The C1 serves Alloa and Sauchie. The C2 serves Glenochil, Tullibody, Cambus, Alloa, Sauchie, Fishcross, Devon Village and Tillicoultry. This would save £176,000 in 2021/22.
SPORT & LEISURE
Stop providing leisure and community services at the Bowmar Centre, Alloa – This would save £25,000 in each of the next two years.
Alloa Leisure Bowl contract – Cease contract with Alloa Leisure Bowl from October 2019. This could result in the closure of the centre and save £273,000 in each of the next two years.
COMMUNITY GROUPS
Reduce the annual grants to Devonvale, Clackmannan and CoalsnaughtonVillage Halls, cease the annual grant to Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the provision of road safety events for all S4 school pupils, end funding to the food bank and soup pot, cease grants to OAP groups which support individuals to attend at Christmas lunch, reduce funding to Citizens Advice Bureau for advice services, cease funding to community councils and reduce funding to Barnardo’s and Action for Children. This would save £79,000 in 2019/20 and a further £88,000 in 2020/21.
EDUCATION
Changes to home to school transport. At the moment it is not a ‘distance entitled policy’, but provides entitlement if pupils live within the catchment area of certain primary schools. This would be changed to the statutory limit of two miles for under eights and three miles for over eights, saving £40,000 over the next two years.
INCOME
Increase Council Tax by three per cent and upping fees and charges by 2.8 per cent
ENVIRONMENT
Reduce winter maintenance to paths, saving £25,000 in 2019/20, scaling back grass cutting to minimum levels saving £46,000 in each of the next two years.
Redesign the stray dog service. If this measure is agreed, the council would leave its partnership with Stirling and Falkirk Councils to save £14,000 in the coming year.
Introduction of a permit scheme for customers who wish to pay to continue to receive this service from 2020. £130,000 would be saved.
Commercial waste service. This would ensure full cost recovery of providing service, saving £35,000 in 2019/20.
It’s proposed the council would stop providing bags for the food waste caddies, saving £30,000.