Q & A: The £117m question in York

At West Offices at 5.30pm, the eight members of City of York’s Executive will meet to agree York’s budget for the next year.

It might not sound very exciting, but it affects everything from roads to buses to care homes, parks and school buses.

It’s also, crucially, when they decide how much council tax we have to pay. So if you live in York, pay council tax, or use any of those services, whatever those councillors decide will affect your life.

Here's a quick guide:

What’s this all about?

Every February, the city council must agree a budget for the following financial year. The 2015/16 budget should be agreed in the next few weeks.

The council is also setting out longer term plans for the next four years, which it says will enable “a more joined up approach”.

This is just the first stage. On Thursday, it goes through the council Executive – made up from the ruling Tory and Lib Dem groups. Next week it’s the turn of the Full Council – all 47 Tory, Lib Dem, Labour, Green and independent councillors – to debate and vote on the plans.

What’s the big news?

Mainly it’s about a council tax increase. Of 3 per cent, to be precise.

Two per cent of that is what George Osborne calls the “social care precept” – it has to be spent on care.

The other 1 per cent is a general council tax increase. If this was 2 per cent or more, the council would have to hold a local referendum.

What's at stake?

Everything! The council has a revenue budget for next year of £117,900,000. That covers everyday services, such as road maintenance, libraries, social care, bins etc.

It also expects to collect £77,072,000 in council tax next year – about £5 million more than last year.

That sounds a lot!

It is, but the Government has allocated the council less to spend next year than this year. The council says it must save £6.5m for next year – or about 5.5 per cent of their budget. And that’s after our council tax bill has gone up.

And will the parties agree on how to spend this cash?

Unlikely. The Conservatives and the Lib Dems have joined forces to run the council, so it’s fair to assume they’ll present a joint front on the plans. But Labour councillors have already said they are worried about big cuts on the way for parks maintenance and bus subsidies, and ambitious plans to save a lot of money on adult social care and children’s services.

The Green group has objections too – they are saying that although it’s good council tax is going up to help pay for care, the Tory government cuts will still hit the most vulnerable as council services are “further eroded.”

So where are the cuts coming?

In short, everywhere.

Every one of the council’s departments has savings to make, although some will be affected much more than others.

Backroom functions are taking a hit, with nearly £1m to be wiped off the budget in four years by abolishing the “Office of the Chief Executive” and shifting staff and work into other departments.

What difference will it make to me?

Bus services are in for cuts, as are parks, school buses, and the Theatre Royal.

The budget papers show that each one of those areas has cuts on the way.

But bigger changes are on the way for adult social care – mainly care for older people. There’s a push to keep people in their own homes (saving money on care homes), and increased fees for people who pay their own way in council-owned homes.

That’s just the start - the proposals are enormous and the reports ahead of the Executive meeting run to 160 pages so the chances are more changes and cuts will emerge as people get into the details.

Any good news?

Well the Theatre Royal is seeing its annual cash grant disappear, but it is getting a one-off lump sum of £760,000 to help pay for its refurbishment.

There’s an extra £1.9m for safeguarding looked after children, and £100,000 for mental health services.

There’s also money for a strategic flood risk assessment, and to complete both York’s long-delayed local development plan, and “Local List” of valued historic buildings.

Plus an extra £115,000 is going into the winter maintenance budget to make sure the council has the resources to get through a normal winter.

So will the councillors reach agreement?

Probably. Although no party has an overall majority on City of York Council, the Conservatives and Lib Dems formed a joint Executive to run the council last year.

This is the first real chance they’ve had to show what they will do with their new-found power.

With those two groups voting together Labour, the Greens and independents will be a long way off being able to beat them in a vote.

Has that ever happened?

Well, it nearly did last year.

Back then, Labour had a shaky hold on power and it was only through a deal with the Green councillor that it managed to get a budget passed. They promised the Greens a free city centre bus in exchange for support, but that idea got scrapped when Labour lost the election and power went to the new coalition.

Can I find out more?

Yes you can! Read our full coverage of the budget plans here, and look out for reports from both tomorrow’s Executive meeting, and next week’s full council.

You can also attend either of those meetings (details here and here), or watch a live webcast from the council.