It's been warned that cuts to services and job losses are "inevitable" as Liverpool Council faces up to “horrific” budget options for next year.
Mayor Joanne Anderson said the city could face a funding gap of more than £100m in two years' time, if changes are not made to funding from the UK Government. With a £73m financial blackhole to plug, the council's budget proposals make for stark reading.
As well as a potential hike in council tax, increasing fees and charges the council also plans to review its libraries and fitness centres. The city’s culture budget will be reduced, and the amount of money spent on welfare support schemes could also be chopped.
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Liverpool Council has lost in the region of half a billion pounds in funding from central government since 2010, with this latest shortfall almost double the £37m the city faced last year. The cut to 2022's budget led to the controversial £40 green bin charge being introduced.
Mayor Anderson said: “It’s horrific. I’m not gonna lie, it’s really bad. In terms of what I felt last year, I thought it was the most challenging thing I’d ever done.
“People think because we’ve got commissioners in, we’re making hard decisions, we’ve been doing this since 2010. We’ve lost half a billion in 12 years and each household is the equivalent of losing £1,099.”
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