HEREFORDSHIRE Council has a week to see off two challenges to its proposed 2015/16 budget.

If deals can’t be done behind the scenes then there’s “floor fight”  on when the full council meets to debate the budget next Friday (Feb 6).

That’s a fight the minority Tory administration can’t be sure of winning when up against the combined opposition vote.

But the Independents and It’s Our County (IOC) are each proposing amendments of their own.

The council’s cabinet has backed a 2015/16 budget plan that puts council tax up by 1.9 per cent,  just short of a rise that would trigger a referendum.

In voting for the increase, cabinet recommends rejecting the government’s offer of a one-off grant to freeze council tax.

The final decision rests with full council.  If approved, the rise would see the average (Band D) bill up to  £1,275.10.

Opportunities identified in the council’s 2015/16 spending settlement from government allow spending to be increased in designated “priority” areas including £200,000 to re-introduce rural bus services that received significant local public support and £400,000 to maintain increased grass cutting in parks and verges.

These options arise out of the government’s overall increase in rural funding and are central to the challenges the council faces on Friday.

The Independent group wants an amendment that removes £125,000 from the rural grant funding allocated to support

rural transport provision and used instead to part fund the second phase of feasibility work on the proposed Rotherwas rail link.

If approved, the amendment could leave up to four as yet unidentified bus services unsupported  and at risk of not being re-introduced.

The amendment proposed by IOC calls for  £220,000 to be  removed from the public realm grass cutting budget and used instead to fund:

• £75,000 to match funding parish councils undertaking open space grass cutting.

• £75,000 to further defer implementation of the ‘change to nearest school’ transport policy and introduction of post-16 special education needs transport charges until September next year.

• £70,000 to increase to £114,000 the support for pilot work on locally led well being projects with the potential to attract match-funding.

Going into next Friday’s debate, the division of the council’s 58 seats is:

Conservative - 27 councillors

Herefordshire Independents - 13

IOC - 12

Liberal Democrats - 3

Green Party - 2

Ungrouped - 1

On the day, the amendments will be debated following the proposing and seconding of the cabinet’s budget proposals and will be voted on in turn.

If approved, the amended budget will be the substantive budget council then vote on.

The Local Government Finance Act 1992 requires council to set a balanced budget.

Approval of the amendments moves a budget allocation from one budget head to another.

It does not change policy or authorise the activity which the budget amendment seeks to support - this is the function of cabinet which will receive reports on the items before making a decision to implement any change in policy.

In voting for its favoured option, cabinet recommends rejecting the government’s offer of a one-off grant to freeze council tax.

Councillor Tony Johnson, leader of Herefordshire Council, has defended the rejection of the grant saying the council would have to find a further  £750,000 in savings if the grant was taken up.

As proposed, the budget sees spending on adult social services slashed  by £5.5 million over 2015/16,  children’s wellbeing by £1.1 million and spending on other services by £3.6 million.

The council says the majority of the savings can be found through on-going “efficiency measures” such as the “improved” use of technology rather than cuts to frontline services.

To 2013/14 the council has saved £34m and is on target to save a further £15m in the current financial year against a background of reductions in grants from central government, increases in demand for council services and increasing costs to the council.

But significant further savings will still have to be found over future financial years.

Initial 2015/16 budget proposals were put to the council’s two overview and scrutiny committees in November with neither proposing alternative options.

Although the council is on target to deliver within the overall budget in 2014/15 there is slippage in some savings and additional pressures in both 2015/16 and 2016/17 that have been mitigated by alternative savings and the use of contingencies.

At present, the council’s medium term plan estimates a near £34 million funding gap arising from increased costs and reduced funding.

The latest 2014/15 forecast outturn shows an overall delivery of savings in  the current year with an additional £18 million of savings required over 2015/16-2016/17, £10 million  2015/16 alone.

A total savings plan for the financial period 2011/12-2016/17 accounts for £67 million.