Council 'confident' it can balance the books despite coronavirus
A £2.6-million gap has been identified in Torbay Council's budget for next year, which was today released for consultation.
The authority blames it on the impact of the pandemic and says the gap could be filled with reserves depending on the outcome of the consultation - ahead of the budget being set in February next year.
Officials are not currently consulting on raising council tax, which if increased by 1.9% would raise £1.4 million.
The authority currently has £4.6 million in its general reserves.
Legally councils must set a balanced budget and the authority hopes money from central Government will be announced as a result of the pandemic.
The council says it lobbied Government for a bespoke furlough scheme for the tourist industry and without one there could be an impact on local jobs in the coming weeks and months - which could in turn affect other sectors in the bay.
The authority says demand for school meals has increased by a third since September and its forceast council tax collection is down half a million pounds as a result of the pandemic.
The council says it expects to lose half a million in parking incomes due to fewer people needing to park their cars outside of workplaces and for leisure reasons.
It currently spends £2.5 million on additional school transport, such as taxis and escorts to help those with certain needs get to school - and is looking at ways to reduce the cost while providing the same level of service.
A new solar farm is expected to generate £100k in the next financial year, with further sites likely to generate up to £400k in future years.
Investments are also planned in children's services IT and systems, whch the council is trying to turn around after twice being rated as inadequate in recent years.
The council has successfully applied for £750,000 funding to regenerate Torquay town centre as part of the Town Investment Plan and are hoping to attract another £25million for the area.
It is also seeking funding to support the regeneration of Paignton town centre.
A range of potential savings have already been identified for 2021/22 including:
· Up to £84,000 to be saved by going ‘paperless’ (and helping the environment at the same time)
· A saving of £100,000 through Children’s Services changing how they interact with children and their families.
· Plans to save £1.5million, increase recycling from 40 to 50% and reduce our carbon footprint through our Resource and Waste Strategy.
· Encouraging customers to sign up for paperless council tax billing which would significantly reduce paper and postage costs as well as reducing Torbay’s carbon footprint.
The government has put back its national budget to deal with the ongoing COVID crisis so at this stage it is not clear exactly what Torbay’s allocation will be.
Leader of Torbay Council, Councillor Steve Darling, said: “These budget proposals are presented in a period of extreme uncertainty resulting from the ongoing impact of Covid-19, in particular how this is being felt in our local economy.
"It’s difficult to estimate how much income we will receive as a Council to support our services or how much we will need to spend as we continue to respond to the pandemic.
"Equally, there is uncertainty over the national financial position including the level of funding that will be made available for local authorities in 2021/22.
“At the start of the year we said we were facing a challenging financial situation, in common with other local authorities.
"In March this year, everything changed. Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our communities and I am in awe of the fantastic response across Torbay.
"We have been working hard with our partners and our communities to help those in most need and we want to continue to work closely together.
“Please do take the time to have a look at our budget proposals and tell us what you think – we would also like to hear your suggestions and ideas for further savings.”
Councillor Darren Cowell, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We cannot pretend that the development of these budget proposals has been easy. At this stage, there is still a budget gap which is greater than we would normally want at the start of the consultation period. We have a statutory duty to balance the books by February 2021 and we are doing all we can to do this and deliver a balanced budget for 2021/22.
“What we really want now is to hear your views so we can understand how these budget proposals may have an impact on you. We want to know how we can work together to mitigate the impact or find new solutions to help Torbay thrive.”
The budget proposals and link to the consultation will be available on the website from tomorrow via www.torbay.gov.uk/budget-202122