Budget plans could include an increase in the contentious garden waste tax.
If East Ayrshire council members approve the £409 million budget plans this week, council tax will be frozen.
The Scottish Government was taken aback by East Ayrshire Council when a £7 million deficit grew to nearly £10 million after the December budget.
EAC’s chief financial Officer Joe McLachlan will tell councillors that the last minute change meant that there was no time to identify £2.7m in specific savings.
Among the proposals for the 2024/25 budget are a:
- Reduction in school budgets – £1.1m
- School crossing patrol review based on risk assessments – £50k
- Ending council payment for gas and electricity in temporary accommodation – £18.5k
- Addressing council paying tax burden in temporary accommodation – £44k
- Review of council support activity for community food arrangements including larder support, social care activity and lunch clubs – 100k
- reduce cleaning and facilities staffing hours and frequencies – £50k
- less routine and planned maintenance – £100k
- Reduce arts and enterprise budgets for musical instruments and staff – £60k
With the exception of an increase of £6.50 in garden waste permit fees, a 10% increase in bereavement service fees, and a 5% increase in registrar same-day fees, the majority of fees would also stay frozen.
Along with a £40,000 reduction in community grants, the budget proposals also suggest cutting funding to certain community organisations.
It is advised that funding for East Ayrshire Churches Homelessness Action, Sports Council, Youth Work Network, and Kilmarnock Community Trust be discontinued because many of them have sizable reserves or are transitioning to more independently funded operations.
The savings required for each service vary; for example, education is required to find savings of 1.3 percent of its budget, while people and culture must find savings of 3.6 percent.
A reduction of £3.3 million in the council’s allocation to the East Ayrshire Integration Joint Board, which manages the Health and Social Care Partnership on behalf of the NHS and council, was also suggested in the recommendations based on the original financial planning.
However, following the Scottish Government’s budget in December, the council was forced to find an additional £2.7 million.
Mr. McLachlan stated: “Given the lack of time to identify additional savings or expenditure reduction measures a more centralised approach to closing the budget gap was taken.”
Services will be asked to find an extra £952k, East Ayrshire Leisure’s allocation will be reduced by £180k, and funding to the IJB will be cut by an additional £1.2m while still meeting the legal requirement.
Accordingly, savings and cuts totaling approximately £4.5 million would be made to council services, and in 2024–2025, the IJB would experience a corresponding reduction in its council allocation.
Despite acknowledging the challenges in reaching a balanced budget, the council will be able to apply new regulations regarding PPP school payments, which will enable it to spend £40 million on early intervention and prevention initiatives over the course of the following ten years.
Additionally, Mr. McLachlan cautioned that the council had noticed a decline in the number of teachers, which may lead to a financial penalty from the Scottish Government in the event that the council is unable to offer a good explanation for the drop.
On Wednesday, the budget report will be presented to the East Ayrshire Cabinet, after which it will be presented to the entire council the following day.
