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Greens modify budget proposals after consultation feedback

By James Ledward
Jan 19, 2012 - 10:13:31 AM
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Cllr Jason Kitcat

The Green administration on Brighton & Hove City Council has modified their budget proposals following consultation feedback.
 
The draft budget was published earlier and in greater detail than any budget previously, to allow an extensive consultation period.

For the first time they produced a 2-year budget to allow for long-term planning, new ‘carbon budgets’ and the most extensive equality impact assessments yet.
 
This radical and unprecedented move meant everyone in the city had more information and time than ever before to contribute to the discussion.
 
Through social media, an online budget simulator, public meetings, a webcast chat, letters, petitions, councillors speaking with residents, and media debate, Greens claim they have extensively engaged with residents and groups in the city
 
Cllr Bill Randall, Leader of the Council, said:
"We pledged to give residents a full and proper consultation. We kicked off the conversation, we listened and we have responded. Our thanks go to the residents who participated, making this the biggest budget conversation the city has seen”.
 
“In response we are changing some of our proposals. Residents have spoken, in contrast to the dearth of meaningful proposals from the opposition parties. In a time of unnecessary austerity measures backed by the Conservative and Labour parties, we are proposing a fair budget"

The following changes have been made to the budget proposals:

•  £160,000 is being put into the Music & Arts Service, reducing the originally proposed saving by three quarters. We will shortly publish the details of how Music and Arts will benefit.

•  A number of public toilets will remain open, including those in Saunders Park & Vale Park.

• Charges for traders and business parking permits will be reduced from the originally proposed levels.

Traders currently: £350, original proposed £750: new proposed level £600

Business currently: £175, original proposed £400: new proposed level £300.

•  The parking tariff for the Eastern end of Madeira Drive will now be put into low price zone all year.

•  Highways 2012/13 will receive an additional £30,000 to enable us to maintain lines and signs.

•  City in Bloom will be provided £25,000 one-off transitional funding to help them reconfigure into a group with a sustainable, independent future.

•  Shopmobility will be provided £29,000 one-off funding to help transition the service to a new funding model.

•  The proposed £55,000 saving will no longer come out of the small grants fund in 2013/14, meaning help for many groups across the city that apply for small grants, often as seed funding to enable bigger projects.
 
•  The originally proposed £120,000 saving in 2013/14 from the Youth Employability Service will no longer be taken.

•  An additional £142,000 will be put into Children's Centres, reducing the level of saving required in 2013/14.

Cllr Jason Kitcat, Cabinet member for Finance & Central Services, said:
"We had a genuine, open consultation on our budget. We have been able to make changes to the areas people told us they were particularly concerned about. We remain open to input from the community as we continue to work in the face of the huge cuts imposed on us by the government."

Cllr Theobald leader of the Conservatives, said:
“I am pleased that the Greens have listened to the residents who have come out in their thousands to campaign against many of these unnecessary cuts and that they have also listened to the arguments
we have been putting forward. These u-turns are all on issues – such as
the Music Service and public toilets - which we have been campaigning on
from day one and it just goes to show what strong, concerted local action
can achieve.”

“However, as always with the Greens, the devil is in the detail. On the
key question – the level of council tax that residents will pay – they
continue to ignore public opinion. The Argus survey has now had almost
7,000 responses and over two-thirds of residents are saying that they
think the Greens should take the £3 million on offer from the Government
and freeze council tax. Instead, they are ploughing ahead with their
misguided and dogmatic plans to increase it by 3.5% for the next 3 years.”
Gill Mitchell, leader of the Labour and Co-op group, said:
"The Greens have caved-in in the face of public opposition to their misguided cuts. The city's traders will not be bought off by the sop of a small reduction in the increase to their parking permits. The Greens need to stop plugging holes in their budget on an ad-hoc basis and get to grips with the fact that the council is over-managed and needs a radical restructure at the top to strip out waste."




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