An hour and 40 minutes after making a “clear decision”, councillors were calling for the opposite
An hour and 40 minutes after making a “clear decision”, councillors were calling for the opposite
A row broke out ahead of a key council tax vote in a Merseyside area as councillors could not make up their minds about what to do. Wirral Council later voted to set a budget for next year avoiding bankruptcy and raising council tax by nearly 5%.
Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat councillors made the key budget vote at a meeting on March 2 which will decide how much funding services will get from April and what savings need to be made. The only councillor to vote against the council tax rise was Your Party member Cllr Richie Pitt.
Reform had previously supported the budget but were not able to attend the meeting due to a pre-booked Tenerife holiday and health issues.
The budget had been put forward after months of negotiations with all parties involved as the cash-strapped authority faces rising costs in adult social care like many across the country. However the Green Party opposed a cut to a council tax support scheme which saved the council around £4m.
However a row broke out after Wirral Mayor Brian Kenny told the chamber the meeting was due to wrap up in several minutes. This is because under council rules, it would end at 8pm which was two hours after it started.
At the beginning of the meeting, Cllr Kenny had reminded councillors of this cut off but “a clear decision” was made not to extend it. An hour and 40 minutes later, elected members were calling for the opposite.
The Green Party asked for the budget vote to be delayed until March 4 but Cllr Kenny said: “Everyone in the room knew exactly what they were voting for […] we can’t then turn around as a council and say oh we changed our minds”. It was eventually agreed all party leaders would be allowed to speak.
During the debate, Wirral Council’s Labour leader Cllr Paula Basnett said: “Demand is rising. Costs are rising. Councils everywhere are having to make difficult decisions and Wirral is no exception.” She pointed out every political party had been part of a task force created by the leader to sort out the finances.
She said the authority needed to set a legal budget or “risk losing control over its own future”, adding: “This budget isn’t easy and no one is claiming it is but it’s deliverable and it’s lawful and it protects the stability of our council.”
The Green Party criticised other parties for “operating entirely from the head”. Earlier in the meeting, it was suggested the council tax scheme cut could see some families face paying £550 more in rates.
Cllr Ed Lamb said: “We are told that if we don’t vote for it, the sky will fall in but for thousands of people in this borough, that happened a long time ago. This budget doesn’t offer them an umbrella; it just ensures they can’t afford the one they have.”
However Conservative leader Cllr Jeff Green said the council needed to deliver on this year’s budget when its backup funds are “so critically low”, adding: “No ifs, buts, maybes, no more excuses, Mr Mayor. The council credit card has been taken out of the council’s hands and we can no longer accept excuses for any overspending.”
The Conservatives moved a change to the budget that would have seen a one year pilot of two town managers costing £100,000 to support high streets. This would be paid for by cutting the marketing budget but the idea was voted down.
It was highlighted during the meeting Wirral’s Reform councillors were not there, but Cllr Kathy Hodson previously explained to the ECHO she and Cllr Andrew Hodson would not be able to attend the budget council meeting as it clashed with a holiday in Tenerife. They would have been at the meeting if it had been held a week before as originally planned.
Cllr Hodson said they would be “looking in detail at all the council’s finances”, adding: “In the budget there is things you do like and you might not like but at the end of the day it’s the greater good. We would be supporting the budget going forward.”
Wirral Reform UK deputy chairman Ainsley Tidd also said Cllr Graham Davies was not able to attend due to ongoing health issues.
At the meeting, councillors also voted to appoint Matthew Bennett as the local authority’s permanent chief executive. This decision was opposed by Wirral’s Green Party who asked for the decision to be pushed back following a critical report into the council.
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