Council warning over savings

TOUGH decisions have to be made about how money can be saved by Tendring District Council as part of a four year financial strategy plan.

Members of the council's Cabinet met yesterday and heard a report outlining details of growing costs of council services.

Possible ways of saving money or increasing revenue, including a 30% rise in council tax, were also outlined.

The report stated: "The council faces a very substantial challenge to achieve financial stability in the next four years.

"It is vital that a clear financial strategy is agreed to create a stable financial position over the medium to long term.

"The scale of cost pressures that the council faces requires a fundamental change to the council's cost base in order to return to a balanced budget."

Members of the Cabinet agreed yesterday to refer the report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for comment about how best to make savings.

Leader of Tendring Council, Terry Allen, said: "Massive decisions have to be made and my colleagues have got to accept they have been put into positions as community leaders and they have to accept responsibility."

Overview and Scrutiny Committee chairman Graham Pottersaid the system needed to be changed so councils could obtain money from sources other than council tax or cutting services.

"The problem we have as a council is that we are not given enough money by the Government to run what they want us to run," Mr Potter said.

"We can cut nothing from the budget without losing something like swimming pools which are discretionary.

"But we live near the sea, so we must have somewhere to learn to swim.

"We have no option, nor does the county or police authority or parish councils. We are all stuck with a tax that is disproportionate and hits the low paid more than it does high earners."

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss the budget at a meeting in November.