North Ayrshire Council facing a £16m funding gap
The council budget will be set on Wednesday
A massive funding gap of almost £16 million for 2024-25 will have to be filled when North Ayrshire Council face the daunting task of setting their Budget next Wednesday, February 28.
This is on top of having to make more than £120m in cuts over the previous 13 years.
Among the proposals being considered by councillors are a five per cent increase in council fees and Charges (excluding school meals charges), a reduction of library opening hours of 20 per cent, the end of evening lets in some secondary schools, the reduction of cleaning days in some offices and removal of school crossing patrollers currently allocated to roads with existing crossings.
Funding has been given by the Scottish Government to offset the impact of the council tax freeze.
"The biggest impact... rising inflation and costs"
Council leader Marie Burns says decisions by Holyrood makes a big difference to budget considerations.
She said: "We have a medium term plan that we hope will get us through the next three years, but that relies on a lot of external factors, like the funding the Scottish Government gets from Westminster and then the funding we get from the Scottish Government.
"The biggest impact in more recent times has been things like rising inflation and costs."
Despite the financial landscape, elected members will on Wednesday consider a budget which aims to continue to help support residents through the ongoing financial challenges while protecting jobs and services as much as possible.
Council tax freeze
Despite the challenges being faced in setting the Budget, the report makes proposals for investment in a two megawatt wind turbine at i3, Irvine, which could realise up to £500,000 income to the council as well as an improvement fund for the town centre.
It is currently recommended that Council Tax should be frozen at 2023-24 levels, with funding provided by the Scottish Government based on a five per cent increase. However, a final decision on this will be a matter for elected members to decide on Wednesday.
The council will still need to make significant savings in order to deliver a balanced budget.
Councillors will also consider the capital budget which supports investment in infrastructure and regeneration projects. The £406 million capital budget includes investment in a wide range of projects such as North Ayrshire’s roads, the upgrade of the B714, decarbonisation of the council fleet, Millport Flood Protection Scheme, the Great Harbour in Irvine and Ardrossan Coastal Quarter.