The full extent of Wokingham’s funding crisis became evident at a Tuesday night meeting of the council’s Community and Corporate Overview Scrutiny committee.
Details of the Medium Term Financial Plan was discussed, and these include savings to the council budget and additional income streams.
The current government proposal for local government funding could push the borough’s cumulative savings challenge for the next three years by more than £47million, due to a reduced government grant.
Proposed savings included a cut to the number of litter bins in the borough, a reduction of roadside verge cutting and a cut to the anti-social behaviour out-of-hours service.
A reduction to the free car parking at Avery Corner in Finchampsted and Ashenbury Park in Woodley was also discussed, as were increases in garden waste fees, above inflation car parking increases at country parks, and changes to the borough’s car park machine provider.
Executive member for finance Cllr Imogen Shepherd-DuBey said: “Setting a balanced budget for next year is going to be very difficult and will require tough choices. Some of the ideas to be discussed at the Overview and Scrutiny meeting are not palatable, but they are necessary, and I am afraid more changes such as these will be needed if the Government goes ahead with its proposed changes to local government funding.
“We have been found by independent experts to be a highly productive council and have made significant efficiency savings over recent years.
“We will continue to drive for productivity, but that must be alongside service reductions and increased charges if we are to balance the books.”
“Earlier this year, Wokingham Borough Council was found to be the fifth most productive in the country by independent experts Impower and was also short-listed for the prestigious MJ Council of the Year award.
“The council is committed to focusing its limited resources on those people who need social care support and about 70% of its spending is on adult and children’s services.
Stephen Conway, leader of the council, told Wokingham Today: “We don’t know the full extent of the reduction in revenue support at present.
“We already had significant savings targets due to historic underfunding; government redistribution of support makes our challenge even more stretching.
“This is the first of three probably very difficult years in terms of our finances. It’s likely to be even tougher in years two and three.
“That’s why we are looking to the committee to go beyond objecting to proposed savings or income generation measures and suggest other ways we can save money or find extra income streams.
“Anything that comes out must be replaced by something else of equal value.
“I’ve always wanted to promote constructive dialogue between the council’s executive and its overview and scrutiny committees: never has that been more important, given the unprecedented nature of the financial challenge.”
Wokingham borough’s full council is expected to further debate and agree the proposals in the coming months.
