Council tax is set to rise by 3.5 per cent and jobs could be cut as East Renfrewshire prepares to plug a £9.5 million budget gap.
The tax increase would bring in an extra £2.1 million while £5.2 million is expected to be taken from reserves, leaving the council to find £2.2 million of “very difficult” savings.
Cuts of £500,000 to roads and winter maintenance budgets are proposed while £583,000 could be taken from an education fund to help low achievers.
Council leader Tony Buchanan said the equivalent of 36 full-time roles could go but there will be no compulsory redundancies.
He added the council will continue to push for fairer funding of local government as a report revealed the spending gap for next year could hit £16.5m.
Councillor Buchanan said: “The council faces significant financial challenges at the same time as delivering many extra services as part of the response to covid."
Councillors will meet on Thursday to set the local authority’s budget for the coming financial year. The majority of East Renfrewshire Council’s income comes from the Scottish Government grant, which is £207.7 million this year.
It has risen from an original £205.5 million settlement, allowing the council to withdraw “the most severe savings.”
However, proposed savings include £90,000 from community warden “reductions” and £83,000 from a drop in modern apprenticeships funding.
Almost £100,000 could be saved from an IT restructure and £33,000 from a review of the chief executive’s office team.
School meal prices could increase, bringing in £30,000, and £10,000 is to be raised through increased Duke of Edinburgh charges.
The council leader said the original settlement had been “disappointing” and the final grant is “lower than we would like.”
He added that East Renfrewshire will “continue to push for a different method of settlement for local government in order that we are properly funded for the services we provide.”
His administration wants to “protect as far as possible those services which the most vulnerable members of our communities rely on.”
Around 60 per cent of the budget is ring fenced for national initiatives, which Councillor Buchanan said “gives us a lot less flexibility on where to make savings.”
The council tax rise would mean a Band D household will pay £1,335.11 in 2022 to 2023, up from £1,289.96.
Councillor Buchanan said the proposal had not been “made lightly and everyone in the administration is acutely aware of the cost of living crisis.”
He said: “If we had not opted to raise council tax there would be a further reduction in funding to our schools, to our public infrastructure such as roads, our parks and recycling services.”
He pointed out 3.5 per cent is “significantly below the rate of inflation” and East Renfrewshire’s council tax bands are “expected to remain around the Scottish average.”
A £150 cost of living payment from the Scottish Government to households in tax bands A to D and those who get income-related council tax reductions will help “almost half of all of the households in East Renfrewshire.”
Most of the budget gap is set to be covered by the council’s reserves, which Councillor Buchanan said are “there for a rainy day.”
“I think this is a rainy day,” he added. “We have to utilise that to try and protect services, particularly in this period of renewal and recovery.”
He also said the reduction in staff would mainly be through “unfilled posts” and “certainly none of it will be compulsory redundancies.”
There could be £25,000 saved from a review of admin and clerical support staff and £17,000 from a reduction in adult learning staffing. The council expects to raise £186,000 through changes to recycling contracts, which will boost income.
Councillor Buchanan said a five-year roads investment programme would continue despite the £500,000 cuts to roads and winter maintenance budget.
He said some of the savings are “technological”, such as temperature sensors which identify the roads which “freeze quickest,” ensuring “we get to the priority areas quicker”.
Margaret McCrossan, the council’s chief financial officer, said additional Scottish Government money was targeted at attainment levels in schools, partly offsetting the savings in the education budget.
She said: “We will still have the same level of pupil equity funding, which headteachers determine, as we’ve had for previous years and headteachers, through devolved school management, can determine how they spend large elements of their budget, if they choose to direct it towards the lowest achievers or otherwise.
“They also have devolved school management reserves they can draw on if they need additional funding too.”
Councillor Buchanan added the council “remains absolutely committed to delivering a wide range of ambitious projects.”
This includes a new Neilston learning campus and the construction of a leisure centre and theatre in Eastwood Park, with work set to start in January next year, as well as improvements to council houses.
The council leader said: “This council will lead the way in supporting local economic recovery and will also continue to take the lead in improving the lives of our residents as we embark on a period of renewal emerging from the pandemic.”
