Weymouth and Portland Borough Council facing £1.5million black hole

8:48am Wednesday 29th July 2009

By Dan Goater

COUNCIL chiefs may have to take drastic measures to plug a projected £1.5million black hole in its budget.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council officers estimate that the authority could be facing the shortfall by the end of 2011 and almost £4.5million by the end of 2015 unless cost-cutting measures are taken.

In a report, officers told members the amount of money the council needed to save would be the equivalent of increasing pay and display car parking charges by 57 per cent or hiking council tax by 25 per cent.

The money could also be saved if the council were to axe several discretionary services at once, including tourist information centres, CCTV, festivals and events, play areas and open spaces, public conveniences and parks and gardens.

The report added that councillors may find the options ‘unpalatable and unpopular’ and that the changes would be likely to have a ‘significant public impact’.

The report also states that the council’s financial situation is down in part to reductions in government funding and the continued need to fund concessionary bus travel in the borough.

The council’s finance and assets spokesman Coun Peter Chapman said: “The council will look at alternative and new income streams and alternative ways of delivering services, first and foremost but hard times mean hard choices and the budget shortfall this year will not be closed by simply doing things more efficiently.

“Despite finding the highest level of efficiency savings of any council in Dorset last year and surpassing the target set by the Government, we have no alternative but to look at cutting some services, stop providing other services and increasing fees and charges.”

The stark options presented in the officers’ report include the possibility of selling off assets such as the council’s North Quay offices or seafront hotels to save money.

The chairman of the Weymouth Hoteliers and Guesthouse Licensees’ Association (WHGLA), Dave Price, who also runs the Molyneux guesthouse on the seafront, said he has lost faith in the council.

He said: “One of the association members has been asked recently to pay 40 per cent more in rent next year – which is just a pie in the sky figure.

“I’ve had my doubts about the council and councillors as a whole in the last few years.

“I wonder how much of the benefit from these savings would be seen by local council tax payers anyway.”

The leaseholder of the council-owned Channel View guesthouse and former WHGLA secretary, Alison Weller, added: “I know the financial difficulty the council is facing but they need to find a way to step up to the mark, especially since we will be hosting the Olympics.”

Members of the council’s management committee will discuss the report detailing the financial pressure the authority is facing at their next meeting on Tuesday, August 4.

Council officers are then expected to work on cost-cutting proposals with councillors to present to the management committee in December.