Council Tax will be frozen if East Ayrshire councillors approved £409m budget plans this week.
East Ayrshire Council fired a broadside at the Scottish Government after an initial £7m shortfall was increased to almost £10m following 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
Most charges would also remain frozen, other than a £6.50 increase in garden waste permit fees, bereavement service fees (up 10 per cent), and registrar same day fees (up five per cent).
The budget proposals also recommend reductions to some community groups as well as cutting community grants by £40k.
Financial support for East Ayrshire Churches Homelessness Action, Sports Council, Youth Work Network and Kilmarnock Community Trust are all recommended for removal, with many having significant reserves or moving to a more self sustaining operation.
Leave a Reply