Public toilets could be closed, school crossing patrollers scrapped and the winter maintenance of local roads reduced by 20 per cent in a bid to save Perth and Kinross Council £4.5 million.
These are just some of the proposals being put before councillors next Wednesday as they meet to set Perth and Kinross Council’s 2022/23 budget.
PKC is faced with a structural deficit of £7.6 million, “significant inflationary pressures” and “uncertainty over future funding levels”.
Council tax was set to increase in April by 4.25 per cent but council leader Murray Lyle told the PA he hopes to “significantly” reduce this budgeted increase.
The council is provisionally set to receive £294.8 million revenue funding from the Scottish Government in 2022/23 – a £13.5 million increase from 2021/22.
However, the budget paper going before councillors states the 2022/23 provisional funding allocation includes £15.8 million of money which is ringfenced for where PKC is expected or required to use it for a “stated purpose”.
In the paper, authored by PKC’s chief accountant, he told councillors ringfenced funding has “increased significantly in recent years”. Scott Walker has calculated a £2.3 million reduction from 2021/22 on like-for-like funding the council has direct control over in terms of budget allocation.
Conservative leader Murray Lyle said: “Yet again there’s a real terms reduction in funding coming from central government.
“We will undoubtedly face challenges in coming to a balanced budget. On the other hand we are an ambitious council and we are going through a transition where we hope to do things more efficiently.”
A raft of measures proposed to save the public purse include:
• a four per cent reduction in staff costs – saving £2.2 million – which would impact council services and increase the workload of remaining staff with posts vacant for longer and some possibly not filled
• potentially resulting in an increased workload for remaining staff and reduced performance in delivering services
• removing school crossing patrollers to save £179,000
• removing primary swimming lessons, saving £60,000
• the full removal of school supply contingency budgets for teachers, saving £152,000 – which could result in schools being closed or classes sent home
• the loss of six FTE primary teachers as pupil rolls fall, saving £344,000
• a five per cent increase on out of school kids’ clubs, school lets and campus lets
• a reduction in maintenance to play areas and parks, saving £35,000
• a reduction in grounds maintenance over the peak summer period, saving £95,000
• closure of Blairgowrie public toilets and seasonal opening of public toilets in Dunkeld from April to September resulting in the loss of three FTE jobs, saving £35,000
• removal of all out of normal hours gritting of paths/pavements with the exception of Perth city centre, saving £40,000
• reducing roads winter maintenance by 20 per cent from 910km of priority routes to 728km, saving £322,000
• a one to four per cent increase on bereavement charges bringing an additional £15,000 in income
• increase category one route gritting times to three hours, reducing the time then spent on category two routes and the number of gritters/ploughs, saving £75,000
• reduction in the number of apprenticeships, saving £150,000
• a weekly increase in the cost of local authority residential care from £973.27 to £1009.66.
Perth and Kinross councillors will meet to set PKC’s 2022/23 revenue and capital budgets on Wednesday.
