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WOKINGHAM’S financial problems are not unique, with other councils in the south east facing budget deficits as a result of emerging financial pressures.
The leader of the borough council, Cllr Clive Jones, said the new administration had to plug a £2.2 million funding gap, and they could tap into the reserves as it would mean reducing this to below £7 million.
Speaking at the start of the meeting of the executive on Thursday, September 29, Cllr Jones said: “The previous administration chose to raid reserves rather than take tough decisions like increases in car park charges.
“Taking £2.2 million from reserves for the current financial year meant the general reserve forecast was reduced to £9 million as at March 31, 2023. Dealing with the revenue shortfall like this means the hole remains for the year 2023-24.
“This has to be addressed by this administration.”
But, Cllr Jones said the new Liberal Democrat-run administration would not shy away from making difficult decisions, to ensure the council does not fall into special measures.
“We don’t want the government to be crawling all over us like they are in Labour controlled Slough and Conservative Thurrock,” he said.
Cllr Jones shared some of the issues he said the party had inherited from the previous administration, some of which has been disputed by Wokingham’s Conservatives.
They include 18 bus services, the work to rebuild the Winnersh Triangle Park and Ride, and providing funding for food caddy liners and blue bags.
“No thought of inflation and no thought of increases in oil prices, of course the bags are made from oil,” Cllr Jones said.
“All these issues together with the long-term impact of COVID-19, Brexit, rapidly escalating costs and interest rates give us, the new administration unprecedented challenges to deal with.
“We don’t want to increase car park charges, but there is no alternative.”
Cllr Jones said that in meetings with fellow council leaders, the same issues were coming up.
“We are having with increased demand for services and dealing with inflation,” he said. “One council leader with years of experience said the current round of budget making was, and I quote, ‘Terrible, terrible, terrible’.
“They had not known a year like it when there were so many budget deficits as a result of emerging financial pressures.”
He warned that Wokingham Borough Council would now need to look at additional ways to reduce costs or increase income across all services.
This would be in addition to raising car parking charges.
“To ensure our financial viability and enable us to deliver the vital services needed by our residents,” he said of the need for this.
“These will be presented to Overview and Scrutiny over the coming months, and I need to stress that this work will be extremely challenging.
“It’s just as well we are running the administration now. We will not hesitate to take difficult decisions to keep our budgets balanced.”
