North Norfolk Council facing £1m budget gap
A increase in inflation and energy costs is being blamed for a budget overspend
A Norfolk council is set to overspend its budget by almost £1m as costs surge.
Pay inflation, energy and increasing costs of waste contracts are all being blamed for North Norfolk District Council’s (NNDC) forecast overspend of £909,235.
Tim Adams, leader of the Liberal Democrat-led authority, said inflation was hitting all councils but NNDC was in a better financial position than most.
“We aspire not to increase the council tax in the current climate, or by at least as little as we can get away with to avoid cuts to council services and staffing which won’t help anyone,” he added.
However, he will be asking officers to look at some of the charges for NNDC’s services.
A report going to the authority’s cabinet on Monday has recommended paying for the overspend from reserves.
At the end of 2021/22 the council set aside £616,000 to offset anticipated impacts of pay and energy inflation, leaving an additional £293,000 needed.
Predicted overspend comes from staff pay inflation (£474,000), waste contracts (£220,000), energy costs (£200,000) and leisure contracts (£114,150).