Council likely to overspend £4m in financial year (From Hereford Times)
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Council likely to overspend £4m in financial year
3:00pm Wednesday 20th March 2013 in News By Bill Tanner
HEREFORDSHIRE Council is on course for a near £4 million overspend on its 2012/13 budget by the end of the financial year.
That sum represents around three per cent of the council’s £143m revenue budget and may have to be covered by its remaining general reserves.
People’s services remains the biggest cost concern currently projecting a net overspend of £6.8m – including an overspend of more than £8m on adult social care alone.
Latest figures show that, as at the end of January, the council’s overall revenue budget position showed a projected overspend of £3.9m by the end of the financial year – or 2.7 per cent of the council’s £143.4m revenue budget.
Any year-end overspend on the revenue account would have to be met largely from the general reserve, the balance of which was £6.1m as at March 2012.
As at April last year, the council held £13.5m of earmarked reserves which cannot be transferred to the general reserve. However, the requirement for other reserves is being reviewed as part of the council’s financial recovery plan.
Under the current medium term financial plan, any use of reserves needs to be “paid back” as part of the 2013/14 budget.
In addition to the revenue overview, the forecast outturn spend on capital schemes is £41.9m compared to the original budget of £44m. The overall position is eased by projected savings of £780,000 net on borrowing and investments.
A 2012/13 budget agreed by the council in February last year reflects the overall savings of £10.8m required to meet the reduced funding levels from central government and budget pressures, particularly on adult social care.
The recovery plan includes actions such as the lockdown of discretionary spend, use of unspent grants, review of reserves, reviewing use of agency staff and vacancy management.
Comments(14)
Themightyboosh
says...
5:40pm Wed 20 Mar 13
wheres the most important one
NO MORE STUPID WHITE ELEPHANTS.
our new council motto should be
"save pennies waste millions"
bobby47
says...
6:27pm Wed 20 Mar 13
My pet hate at the moment is this bloody Record Office that they are going to build for 8 million quid.
This is being done on a whim. A thoughtless foolish whim that makes no sense.
They've closed the place but for a few hours each and every month. They've got about ten full time staff, some on seriously large salaries, several part time staff and what are they all doing now and until this new Record Office is built?
They're bloody dusting. Dusting bloody documents and packing them all away until the new place is built.
And what happens when it's built? Well after Consultation, which of course the Council paid for, they must wait approximately six months before they unwrap the bloody records and put them into the building. Why? Because after Consultation which they've paid for, it'll take six months for the bloody place to dry out. Apparently our records will 'rot', rather like our City, if we place our Records into this damp new building.
I don't want highly paid staff to dust for the next 18months. I want them to work, provide me with value for money and to justify their existence.
Bloody Dusting documents!!!! It's madness.
William Rudd
says...
6:49pm Wed 20 Mar 13
silentbull
says...
7:23pm Wed 20 Mar 13
bobby47
says...
7:48pm Wed 20 Mar 13
They are doing all they can to sell off buildings and assets to plug the gap and doing all they can to keep jobs from going under.
Whilst I acknowledge this is a noble cause and difficult to criticise because it sounds mean and uncaring, I believe that they must start culling these legions of jobs that were created during the tenure of New Labour. Many are pointless, they provide nothing but bureaucratic nonsensical tiers of decision makers and only add to the woes of all our great front line public servants who wouldn't argue to much if they saw a bit of blood on the floor.
I say, stop messing around, stop waiting for people to retire, stop trying to fiddle at the margins in an effort to balance the books and do what is needed now. Start culling these public service jobs that are not needed and were never wanted in the first place.
Note..(I ain't attacking our frontline public servants who I value and cherish)
littlewhitebull
says...
10:35am Thu 21 Mar 13
I borrowed a copy of the HT (can't afford the price these days) and saw that the council are going to scrap 'Herefordshire Matters'.
Do you think the council have started to listen? I have checked the date and it's not 1st April.
dippyhippy
says...
2:27pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Bobby,a lovely last sentence - its nice to be valued and cherished!!
bobby47
says...
3:05pm Thu 21 Mar 13
I've never taken for granted our public services. They were hard won by our ancestors and we'd do we'll to remember that these services can be quickly lost if we allow them to be asset stripped by freeloaders who pick the meat of their flesh and couldn't care less about the damage they are causing the kids of our future.
My warmest regards to you dear friend.
Grid Knocker
says...
4:51pm Thu 21 Mar 13
dippyhippy
says...
4:58pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Themightyboosh
says...
8:12pm Thu 21 Mar 13
though it does mean ill have to start buying toilet paper again :P
Grid Knocker
says...
9:17am Fri 22 Mar 13
, more like. It is as if the architects have been inspired by seeing some old photos of Hitler's bunker under the Rheichstaff (?sp) and then added such stupid decorations as wood shingle tiles ffs. Make a nice poultry house though.
bobby47
says...
11:41am Fri 22 Mar 13
Mind, I'll not have our new found love consummated by the physical act of love. It ain't going to happen and anyone who says it has, might, will and could is a bloody liar and an embellisher.
Themightyboosh says...
5:35pm Wed 20 Mar 13
the road to nowhere +£23M in the bank.
the new archive +£4M in there coffers.
and the list goes on and on and on and on and on.