West Dunbartonshire Council faces major cuts to address budget black hole

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Axing lollipop patrollers, cutting back street cleaning and switching to three-weekly bin collections are all options being considered to save cash as West Dunbartonshire Council faces a £5million funding black hole.Reducing the number of pupils who qualify for school travel, charging for brown bin collections and cancelling fireworks displays and Christmas lights switch-ons have also been suggested on a list of 47 cuts presented to councillors last week.Combined they would save £4.3m by 2023/24 - the council faces a projected budget gap of £5.59m, even if proposals to increase council tax by three percent are approved later this year.Members have blamed a drop in the funding they receive from the Scottish Government for the dire financial state, with local government body Cosla saying that it represents a £371m real-terms cut in funding.However finance minister Kate Forbes said: “Councils asked for an additional £100m to deal with particular pressures.

We have heard them and listened and are going to go further.“That will allow them to deal with the most pressing issues they face and, at a time when people are understandably worried about the cost of living, I would point out that this increase in funding will be equivalent to a four percent increase in council tax.”Labour’s David McBride warned that the budget was “austerity on stilts”, adding “we are facing savage savings options that will damage our communities.”SNP council leader Jonathan McColl meanwhile said he had been lobbying the Scottish Government for more funding and is set to meet finance minister Kate Forbes later this month, adding “I have been making it very clear the impact this funding settlement will have on local services.”The suggested savings would