£164k in cuts on Ryedale council agenda (From Gazette & Herald)

£164k in cuts on Ryedale council agenda

1:00pm Saturday 4th February 2012 in News By Karen Darley

RYEDALE is facing cuts in services amounting to £164,000 over the coming financial year to balance the district council’s budget.

Proposals include scrapping the Play Rangers scheme as well as the council’s involvement in CCTV and Norton skatepark.

Museums and arts groups in Ryedale also face funding cuts, including Helmsley Arts Centre, Ryedale Folk Museum, the Beck Isle Museum in Pickering and the Pied Piper and Live Music Now scheme.

The council has also identified a further £628,000 of other savings through efficiency and budget reductions as the authority prepares to set its 2012/13 budget.

The proposals, which will go before the full council later this month, include reducing funding for Ryedale Festival and Malton Museum by £20,000 and £5,000 respectively, while arts centre The Shed could lose £2,832.

Reception opening hours at the council’s Ryedale House offices would be scaled back to save £15,000 and its Kirkbymoorside area office would only open one day a week, saving £10,000.

Other proposals include new pest control charges for dealing with rats, charging residents who use credit cards to settle accounts and a £10,000 funding cut for the Ryedale Community Transport scheme.

Ryedale Community Action is also looking at a reduction in its grant from £27,000 to £7,000, while sports development support, which organises coaching courses, faces a cut of £30,000.

The district council is expected to accept a Government grant allowing 2012/13 council tax bills to be frozen, although this would leave a £94,000 hole in the 2013/14 budget.

A report by corporate director Paul Cresswell for the authority’s policy and resources committee, which meets tomorrow (Thursday), said the £628,000 in savings identified through the council’s Going for Gold efficiency drive included sharing services and a review of its Streetscene section, which covers refuse collection and street cleaning.

“The achievement of these savings will be crucial in managing within the budget,” said Mr Cresswell’s report.

The report adds that any suggestions by councillors for extra spending during 2012/13 would have to be met by an unallocated “growth provision” of £50,000 within the budget, from the £439,779 the council expects to receive through the Government’s New Homes Bonus grant, or by making further cuts.

Council leader Keith Knaggs said: “I am pleased that Ryedale District Council has been able to freeze council tax for the third successive year, while making the savings required to compensate for loss of government grants through efficiency gains and restructuring.

“There must be few, if any, councils in the land that are making service cuts for the first time this year. We are trying to protect what really matters to most people – homes, jobs, and the environment, including recycling. At the same time we have kept the New Homes Bonus for reinvestment in the community, so that despite the “cuts”, the total money going back into the community actually goes up.”

However, Coun John Clark said there was no need for the council to make any of the proposed cuts.

“Money is coming in from the ‘Government bribe’ for the New Homes Bonus and if they used half that money as the Liberals proposed they could have kept these services going,” he said.

“On this logic, when someone sees rats in their village they will have to apply to the New Homes Bonus grant panel for funding so that they are able to pay the council to get rid of the rats. Is this a ludicrous way to run a council or is it just ludicrous?”

Coun Paul Andrews said the proposals were disappointing particularly the Ryedale Festival and CCTV funding.

“Ryedale Festival is one of the visitor attractions which brings people into Ryedale from outside the area,” he added.

He was also concerned about the proposals to cut CCTV funding and said: “It is very disappointing that the council cannot see its way to support local businesses who regularly contribute in business rates for the vital protection CCTV provides.”