COUNCIL tax will rise by 4.99 per cent for all Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole residents from April, as parties representing the administration voted for a new budget.
The Lib Dem-led Three Towns Alliance’s budget for 2024/25 will see more than £40m worth of service cutbacks.
The changes were ratified at a fiery council meeting that saw numerous clashes between councillors of opposing parties.
Cllr Mike Cox, portfolio holder for finance, said there can be “no sugar coating the depths the council has had to trawl” to recover its finances.
On the horizon are day centre closures, reduced hours for library opening times, more than 100 redundancies, fewer grass cuttings, community safety officers axed and the air festival’s final year.
But the council insists it will deliver a four-year balanced budget, protect core services, put £320k in the hands of councillors (equating to £4,000 each) to improve their wards and close a £44m funding gap.
Council leader Vikki Slade said: “Many cuts avoided in this year’s budget have simply been deferred for a year, becoming problems for the next administration to sort out.
“Every saving we have sought to roll back has meant a difficult decision elsewhere. But we have no choice but to balance the books and restore the financial stability to ensure BCP Council remains in control of its own destiny.”
Cllr Cox added: “This budget adds millions of pounds to our reserves and will provide a platform from which BCP can thrive in the future.”
This is what we learned from the meeting.
Labour and Greens don’t support budget
IT WAS not just the Tories who didn’t vote for the Three Towns Alliance’s proposals: Labour voted against it while the Green Party abstained.
Labour leader Patrick Canavan said residents expect council tax to be spent correctly, with basic services such as grass cutting being met.
He said: “Situations are tough, we acknowledge that. But they call for more than just balancing the book – they require hope, aspiration and a plan to drive innovation, deliver serious regeneration whilst supporting the most vulnerable.
“We are unable to support an approach which seals the financial envelope and devises strategies afterwards.”
Green Party leader Chris Rigby said in his five years of voting on budgets, this year’s has the “biggest cuts that we’ve ever had to do”.
He said: “What’s next year? How much will we be cutting then? Where will it come from? I’m tired of playing this game, of having the agenda set by central government of what we can and can't do.”
He added: “[The council] has balanced the books and what you are doing is the same thing that the poorest in society are doing every time the price of bread goes up.”
Cllr Rigby quoted the phrase “better to break the law than to break the poor” but added that "nobody is doing it now."
Green’s Joe Salmon added: “Despite the best efforts of the administration, it doesn’t address the needs of our communities for housing, health and education. It does nothing for climate change.
“If there are so many people in this room who recognise this budget just doesn’t work, why are we about to vote for it?”
Tory proposals shot down
CONSERVATIVES were given a bruising by councillors after their plans which promised to “restore pride” were shot down.
Extra funding for children’s services, mental health services and the town centre, deferring the day centre closures and one-off funding to save the air festival for 2025.
But non-Tory councillors were quick to reject the proposals, with council leader Vikki Slade describing it as “fantasy finances”.
Cllr Mike Cox, cabinet member for finance, said the Conservatives “have learned absolutely nothing from their humiliating defeat in May”.
He said: “A key element in that defeat was the financial shambles which they presided over [...] you had a humiliating best value notice from inspectors, an appalling auditor’s report which questioned BCP’s ability to balance the budget.”
Cabinet member for culture Andy Martin said: “I want to give 10/10 to Cllr Broadhead and the opposition for their sheer brass neck, if nothing else, in talking about pride in BCP Council.
“This is the remnants of the administration that brought you in two-and-a-half years huge reputational damage to this authority, financial instability, toxic atmosphere, appalling governance, misleading statements and half-truths and spin, a best value notice, a break down in relationships, an unprecedented level of referrals to standards and even a cabinet member trying to spend money in Tory wards to swing the results of the last election.”
Cllr Slade added: “It is ridiculous to suggest before we even go into a year that we undo the potential savings that we haven’t yet made and spend it on something else when we haven’t yet made it.”
“Political point scoring”
GROUP leader Phil Broadhead accused the Lib Dem-led administration of “political point scoring” with “soundbites and accusations left right and centre”.
He said: “Cllr Slade described this as 'fantasy finances', couldn’t understand it. It’s quite simple: this year you have an extra £25m which you’re spending and you’re not using it to protect services.
“We’re not saying spend all of it, we’re saying use 50 per cent of your contingencies, which is a brand new contingency, to invest in the places but only if the s151 officer agrees with it.”
Shadow finance portfolio holder John Beesley said: “We believe that the council could do much more to save services for adults and children.
“It should defer savings and have a proper review of adult day centres.”
Cllr Anne Filer added youth centres are “the best investment in our future” and that they need the funding.
“As for day centres, I’m at the other end, I’m not a young person but I’ve got grandchildren who themselves have suffered mental health issues through Covid.
“At the other end, I’ve got friends who are desperate for day centre places for their loved ones who have absolutely no purpose and who will be a complete drain on the economy and NHS unless we invest in them.”
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