November 11: KCC bites the budget bullet
In the context of its £1.5billion budget, KCC’s warning
that it is facing a £200million shortfall in its finances over
three years may not seem much.
But it is clear that County Hall is preparing
to be under a public spending cosh for a prolonged period and it is
out to limit the pain and insists it can protect frontline services
and spare itself gory headlines about cuts affecting residents.
It does, of course, rather depend on how you
define a cut. Most people would regard it as being deprived of a
service they used to get – or seeing a service they used to get
pared back so it wasn’t quite what it was. KCC’s view of things
when it spells out its spending plans for next year will I suspect
be in line with this definition.
But there are cuts and cuts.
KCC prepares for tough
times>>>
Raising charges for an adult education class
is not a cut in the traditional sense but it might mean someone not
going on the course.
The same applies with bus services supported
by the council and various other options I gather are under
discussion. The emphasis, I am told, is on ensuring that vital
services are protected “come hell or high water” and that
fripperies or discretionary schemes are to be microscopically
examined (which could be interesting for Kent TV).
And what does the gloomy outlook mean for
council taxpayers?
I hear the ruling political administration is
rather keen on a zero increase but behind the
scenes there is a debate going on about whether it can be done.
It’s not just about sparing the poor council
taxpayer.
In a general election year, the Conservatives
will want to show that they run councils cheaper and better,
especially after George Osborne pledged in 2008
that the Conservative government would enable councils to freeze
tax increases for two years.
Will Paul Carter, council leader, get his way?
The kudos of setting a zero increase would, for what is seen as a
flagship Conservative authority, be considerable. The question is
whether the officers think it can be done without hitting services
in a more direct way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There appears to be
growing scepticism that KCC plans for a huge lorry park off
the M20 to deal with Operation
Stack are viable.
At a summit to discuss KCC's on-going campaign
to limit the impact and find a solution that was held at
Westminster yesterday, three Kent MPs expressed their misgivings
about whether it was realistic to plan for a £40million park on
70-acres of farmland.
Michael Howard was especially trenchant, saying
that while he agreed something needed to be done, the site KCC had
earmarked at Aldington in his constituency would be built on
"over my dead body".
To be fair, Cllr Paul Carter did say he would consider
other options but warned other sites had already been examined and
ruled out.
I've always considered that however desirable the lorry park
plan might be, it is something of a long shot. No Government money
is available and even a future Conservative government is unlikely
to see it as a priority.
Which might explain the careful balancing act performed by
shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers at the
summit, who was to non-committal statements what Simon Cowell
is to controversial decisions on the X-Factor.
Perhaps she had been discretely lobbied by her Kent colleages
beforehand.
Wednesday, November 11 2009