Mayor's first job will be to cut £25 million
ONE of the first jobs facing Bristol's incoming elected mayor will be to cut an extra £25 million from the city council's budget.
The authority has revealed it faces making deeper cuts than first anticipated as funding from central government is reduced.
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Two years ago, the council announced it had been forced to make £70 million in budget savings by 2014/15. That figure has now been revised to £95 million. Some £55m in cuts have already been made, leaving the new elected mayor with the daunting task of finding a further £40m in savings once he or she takes office in November.
The mayor will be responsible for presiding over cuts worth £20m to £25m during their first financial year at the helm.
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The council's budget for the next two years has been revised because the Government has made changes to the council tax benefit system – leaving a £5m shortfall – reduced the city's academy funding by £2.5m and scrapped the authority's council tax freeze grant of £4.5m.
It is also facing making bigger cuts because it has borrowing and revenue costs of £3m from additional capital investment and spent £7m on a project to reduce the size of the council.
Council officers are now preparing a list of options for plugging the huge financial gap.
The ideas will be presented to the new mayor when he or she takes up the position following the election on November 15.
Tim Kent, right, city councillor responsible for the revenue budget, said: "The budget for the next financial year will be the first big decision for the newly-elected mayor to take and as usual officers are preparing detailed options they can consider for achieving this target. As we approach the official campaign period, it is important to make clear the very real budget pressures that the city council and local government as a whole is facing.
"Mayoral candidates will no doubt want to make commitments, but if they have capital or revenue implications, then further savings will need to be identified.
"We have made £55 million savings so far, which has been challenging but has been achieved with determined effort by cabinet colleagues and officers, particularly in stripping away back-office administration costs."
Comments
by Brizz_Tony
Monday, October 08 2012, 8:10PM
“Gary_Hopkins,
Thanks for a good explanation. The BRT route from the northern fringe is a good idea. It's the effect on Cumberland Road of BRT2 that I don't agree with, and leaving that alone until the outcome of the new rail strategy is known seems more sensible. We will probably never agree on that one.
You mentioned the incinerator - I looked up the New Earth Systems site, which I assume is the win-win option - what a brilliant idea! I just hope we can produce enough rubbish the keep it going.”
by harry12911
Monday, October 08 2012, 4:49PM
“Cllr Hopkins states - "The plan for the interchange is to use plot 3 and plot 6 beside temple meads for the interchange. Arrangements were made with the government body holding the land."
That's the problem though. The plans released show office blocks on plots 3 and 6 !
Do you accept that the BRT plans have stops built into it which are in the middle of the countryside/greenbelt with no nearby housing or offices (yet !) ?”
by gary_hopkins
Monday, October 08 2012, 3:56PM
“The plan for the interchange is to use plot 3 and plot 6 beside temple meads for the interchange. Arrangements were made with the government body holding the land.
No that is not the reason for BRT but if we spent all day debunking every spurious comment...
The BRT investment is absolutely good value.£3M a year revenue conversion £100M capital from government and we get £150m transport schemes which will not only create opportunities during construction but will produce significant economic benefits.
This last has been modelled by West Of E. officers,audited and then tested against all other national schemes by central government. In other words government both before and after the general election thought the Bristol BRT schemes were the best value for money in the country.
There are others though waiting in the wings and if we dither they will grab the cash back and the surrounding councils will probably sue us.
I was pointing out the difference between revenue and capital and Labours spendthrift ways and knack of battling with the neighbours would leave us in a mess.”
by harry12911
Monday, October 08 2012, 2:38PM
“Cllr Hopkins
i can't find any transport interchange on the plans for Temple Meads, the BRT or the enterprise zone. Can you point out where this interchange is ?
Note that you seem to accept that the BRT plans have stops in the middle of nowhere in the countryside/greenbelt.
Love how you defend the indefensible spending of public money and then blame labour for offering more of the same. Where is the Council's £millions spending on BRT consultants and planners coming from in a time of cuts ?”
by gary_hopkins
Monday, October 08 2012, 2:27PM
“I am afraid Harry that you are out of date. The BRT will go to Temple meads and be part of the interchange and it will link in with trains at Ashton.
I also note the total confusion that some have about capital and revenue budgets.
Interest rates are cheap at the moment which allows a 14-1 ratio.
That means that £1M of revenue saved can pay for a £14M capital investrment.Capital investment is important to proceed with at the moment not only because we at the moment can get very good value for money but we have a hard pressed construction industry. (not as bad in Bristol as elsewhere)
That means that the revenue conversion cost of ALL of the BRT schemes for Bristol taxpayers is around £3M a year.Central government are putting in the bulk of the money.
Constuction of BRT creates about 1,000 construction jobs and the improved connectiveity will help business expand over time.
The revenue challenge facing the council next year is of the order of £25M which is a little less than has been saved over each of the last 2 years mainly by reducing management costs.
Of course £25M still presents a significant challenge to the inexperienced especially when the Labour candidate pretends that his £5M cost promise on wages will only cost £0.5m and he has promised to build 4,000 extra affordable homes a year with funds to come from "to be identified later"”
by gary_hopkins
Monday, October 08 2012, 2:11PM
“Digging out review report which went to Tim Kent to review with ULR proponents.
There may be some numbers that are sensitive for the ULR proposers but in the meantime here is a note from a ULR proponent confirming the review which was produced a few weeks later.
David and All
So – still no dates from what I am reading here. And no mention of the alternative ULR tram which Alun and Bob are assessing on a 'level playing field' under instruction from Gary Hopkins and Jon Rogers. The deadline for this assessment (and our scrutiny of it) has been set for end of June; not long away; not much time for community involvement where the tram proposal is concerned.
You will perhaps have seen coverage of the tram proposal in the Evening Post last week (see attached).”
by smoosername
Monday, October 08 2012, 10:47AM
“@gary_hopkins - "Bristol Lib Dems would have preferred to have an ultra light rail solution ,and we tried to switch"
http://tinyurl.com/8jzewce
In the above post, you mentioned you personally reviewed the switch. Would it be possible to see this review outcome?”
by Pyronaught
Monday, October 08 2012, 10:14AM
“"BRT is not our "pet project". It has been indevelopment for over 7 years"
......... and has cost vast sums of money - achieved nothing but ill feeling, has not actually happened yet and will now have to somehow, magically compete with the farcical chaos that is Bristol's traffic system. There can be no 'rapid transit' because the council have messed up our roads so badly that nothing can move. WAKE UP - were you all born stupid or did you have to work for it?”
by Pyronaught
Monday, October 08 2012, 10:09AM
“This is the simplest job the Mayor will ever have. Cut £20m? - easy - just put a stop to the idiots on the transport exec who can seem to spend that much just ordering paperwork for a scheme that Bristol does not want, does not need and cannot afford.”
by harry12911
Monday, October 08 2012, 8:40AM
“Gary Hopkins - "BRT may not be your ideal cup of tea but it will contribute to our overall integrated solution."
No it won't. Its not integrated at all. It doesn't even go to Temple Meads. It doesn't integrate with other forms of transport. It is hugely expensive and will assist only a very small number of people, already served by existing bus routes. Its going to be a montrous white elephant and we are shutting all the care homes and day centres to pay for it.
BRT is about one thing only, opening up the green belt. That's why there are planned BRT stops in the middle of the countryside.”