Published on:
11
October 2012
Two innovative schemes which will save the Council money in the long term have been agreed by Councillors.
The proposals were given the green light as part of the budget strategy, as services across the Council continue to prepare for the setting of the Council's budget for 2013/14.
The first 'spend to save' scheme will see solar panels installed onto appropriate public buildings owned by the Council. This will both reduce long term carbon emissions and ultimately generate income for the Council. It is latest of server initiatives introduced by the Council to reduce its carbon footprint.
The second proposal involves the Council buying up to 50 homes as part of a series of measures to increase Council housing stock. As well as being cheaper to buy homes and making more permanent stock available, the Council also saves money by not needing to house families in B&B accommodation.
Council Leader Gary Womersley said: "This Council has a robust approach to financial planning. Our budget strategy involves a year-round approach to the identification, development, monitoring and implementation of proposals to reduce the Council's expenditure and/or increase income, which is why I am delighted that we have been able to give the go ahead to these two innovative schemes today.
"Both these schemes save the Council considerable money as well as also delivering immediate outcomes for Clackmannanshire. Not only are these initiatives canny, they contribute to the Council delivering on its Corporate Priorities that people told us they wanted the Council to deliver.
"This continues to be an extremely challenging time for Council services, and these financial challenges are forcing us to think about delivering services in a different way."
The last budget strategy report, which was presented to the August meeting of the Council, predicted a funding gap of £12.511 million for the years to 2014/15. The forecasting of this funding gap is regularly reviewed taking the changing economic outlook into account. This gap has now reduced slightly to £11.965 million, following the Scottish Government's draft budget announcement. This includes a funding gap of £6.494 million which requires to be bridged in order to set a balanced budget in 2013/14. In order to meet this gap services are to be allocated a budget reduction target. Given the scale of the financial challenge the Council faces, these targets will be extremely challenging for services.
Accountants, service managers, elected members and Trades Unions continue to contribute to the budget challenge process. Business cases are currently being drawn up on a list of proposals which will help to bridge the gap. The Council's corporate priorities, as set out in the Corporate Plan, are the key driver in formulating the transition programme.
Councillor Womersley added: "With a likely shortfall in funding, it is important that effective measures are put in place to bridge that gap in a sustainable way. Much has been delivered so far, but it is clear that further significant savings are required for the future. We have a process for reducing expenditure, with a year-round approach and constant cycle of budget reviews, which is bringing all elected members closer to the process and early discussion of proposals."