Proposals for budget 2020/21 to be debated at scrutiny meetings
The budget proposals for 2020/21 will revitalise the RBWM’s transformation programme which will ensure it can continue supporting its most vulnerable residents.
The proposals, which will future proof RBWM, show an increase of 3.99% of Council Tax which includes 2% for the adult social care precept, which is an overall increase of 79.5p per week.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, leader of RBWM, says: “All councils are experiencing challenging financial positions and we are no different to the rest of the country. There are significant spending pressures in both adults and children’s services and we are working to reduce that gap between income and expenditure.
“Unlike many other councils, we have a low level of reserves which means that we have less time and potentially fewer options than others to bring our budget into balance.
“We want to transform RBWM, be innovative and forward thinking about how we provide services to our residents, and that means looking at how we provide services and if we can, deliver them differently.
“We are a low Council Tax authority and will be in the future; but one which firmly adopts the principle of the user pays, so our tax payers do not have to subsidise non-core council services for those who can afford it.
“We are continuing to invest in supporting our most vulnerable residents and addressing broader policy, such as climate resilience, which is now driving our response in areas such as parking.”
The proposals also include a number of efficiency savings which include reducing management and administrative posts, transforming youth and early year’s services to target the most vulnerable, adult care transformation that will improve services delivered to residents while using new technology to reduce costs, reducing the maximum discount for working age claimants from 91.5% to 80% in line with other councils, removing parking discounts for Advantage cards while maintaining all other benefits of the scheme, and making a small administrative charge for residents parking permits. These will all be discussed at scrutiny meetings before the proposals go to Full Council.
The budget papers will first be discussed at Communities Overview and Scrutiny meeting at Maidenhead Town Hall at 6.30pm on Tuesday 28 January as RBWM begins its process to get approval before Full Council on 25 February 2020
