South Ayrshire budget: Every crucial decision as council tax rises

dailyrecord.co.uk:

All of South Ayrshire Council’s service charges and council tax payments will increase by 2.9 per cent from April to bridge a £6.7m shortfall.The council opted to make less than £900,000 in new cuts and savings ahead of May’s local elections.Instead, the 2.9 percent tax increase will bring in an additional £2.21m, with just over £3m in reserves being utilised.This leaves new cuts and savings totalling £892k to add to the £630k previously agreed.This will see £175k saved through the development of its ‘future operating model’ which includes cuts to car mileage payments, supplies and other services.An increase in ‘payroll management’ targets will save a further £500k, while the increase in fees and charges by 2.9 percent will bring in £217k.

This applies to council only charges, not those set at a national level or by the council’s partners.Around £550k will be made from ‘over-recovery of rent from homeless temporary accommodation’.The budget set out an estimate of future funding gaps by 2023/24.

This ranges from a best case scenario of £6.18m to a worst case gap of £20.3m.Vote for your Ayrshire Live Pub of the Year in the form belowIntroducing the budget, SNP Council Leader Peter Henderson addressed the challenges facing the council.He said: “We know that rising living costs such as energy and food bills are having a huge impact on hardworking families.

As a council, we are also affected by rising costs and tax changes such as the imminent increase in National Insurance contributions.The budget plans include:£460 million for Capital Investment projects from 2022-23 to 2033-34 including:Councillor Henderson said: “The decision to raise Council Tax is not one that was taken lightly.The Ayrshire Live app is available to