Strapped for cash
 

Well, we saw this one coming. Last October I was able to regale you all with the sad and sorry tale of the level of the borough's indebtedness, which is, cumulatively, £60,000,000.

I also discovered that in October the council were overspent by £480,000, and I predicted that figure to rise. I am not pleased to discover that my prediction has proved to be accurate and the shortfall between council income and expenditure has now risen to £1,000,000.

The local Government Minister, Nick Raynsford has threatened to "cap" any excessive rise in Council Tax to cover the shortfall. He said "We expect all authorities to budget prudently and minimise demands on their council taxpayers. We expect the average council tax increase in England to be less than five percent. There is no excuse for excessive council tax increases and we will not tolerate them."

In October "Barking" Britcliffe said that the £480,000 overspend was nothing to worry about because the council had been subjected to an examination of it's finances that was unprecedented in it's rigour and that he fully expected to be able to keep the council in the black.

The Idiot in Cheif (who still imagines that he is worth every bit of the £16,000 per annum in allowances that he awarded himself in September, and wishes it could be more.) has been working overtime this week trying to place the blame for this lamentable situation on anyone and everyone he could think of - except, of course, his own incompetant administration. He also revealed that the council were compelled to top up it's pension fund with an injection of £400,000 of council taxpayers money. I don't know about you boys and girls, but I, for one, resent every damned penny.

The list of complaints of this council's failings grows longer by the day and there is no sign of any respite in it's mangling of finances and services. Indeed, thanks to their manifest incompetance and the Government's refusal to bail them out, we will see council services cut to the bone in the coming year. You think that the refuse collection service is a shambles now, hang on to your bin-bags luv, things are about to get a whole lot worse.


Remember: You voted them in, and You can vote them out!

Re: Strapped for cash
 

The problem is that unless the ward which voted PB in votes him out we don't seem to get anywhere. It doesn't seem to matter who I vote for they never end up doing anything in relation to their pre-election promises. Once they're in they seem to get assimilated into the system. A bit like the Borg.

That gives me an idea for a graphic if I have time later today. Watch this space - or possibly another space elsewhere on the board.

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Going along with the Christmas lights thread, it seems obvious now that Britcliffe and the council were planning on the government giving them the same level of grant as last year. That is why it would be better to wait until after the Mayor making Ceremony to take the lights down - the Government grant would be in the bank in April and the council would have had plenty of spare dosh sloshing around.

Britcliffe must be livid that the government have slashed the grant and threatened to cap council tax increases at less than 5%. Clearly the council have been spending next year's income before they have even got it. So much for Financial Rigour!

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Ah the old unhatched chicken counting syndrome.

Between ironing I couldn't resist:-

Re: Strapped for cash
 

Are you sure it isn't more like this?

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I have to say I prefer Willow's version!!!

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Ah yes, but what about Hannah Ahrendt's statement about "The banality of evil"?

Re: Strapped for cash
 

A-B, am I reading that correctly? Does the borough owe sixty million pounds?

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Yep...thats right. But it is probably the average for an authority of this size. Some of the loony london Boroughs (each about 4 X the size of Hynburn) have municiple debts approaching £1billion, so there's nowt unique about Hyndburn. Councils began issuing paper way back in order to finance the capital costs of various infrastructure schemes, but of course, interest payments have to come from current rate revenues.

I would guess that most, if not all, of Hyndburns debt is issued on Hyndburn paper, but alot will have been rolled over on the maturity on Accrington Corporation, Church, Ossy, etc bonds which Hyndburn inherited in 1974.

So the question should be "What has been the growth, in real terms, of the consolidated debt of Accy, Ossy, Church etc, since 1974 and how does this compare to similar local authorities"

I think political control of the council has been roughly 50/50 Labour/Tory over the last 31 years.

Re: Strapped for cash
 

I know that they admit that it cost £2,000,000 to service the debt this year. And I would suspect that most if not all of it is a consequence of the tricks and strategems employed by the labour group to get around rate capping in the eighties and nineties.
Mind you having said that the present Conservative shower are little better, if not ten times worse.

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Oh, sorry JohnW, yes, it is Sixty Million Pounds and rising!

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PB had better sell his body to raise some cash.......on second thoughts sixpence would be too much to pay!
We are really in the Fisons!

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Excuse my ignorance A-B, but who is this Hannah whats-her-face?

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She's more of a "was"

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...hy/arendt.html

Re: Strapped for cash
 

I've just been having a squint at HBC's balance sheet for 2003/2004, it's on the front page of their website if any of you are interested (Tealeaf?).

Here's an interesting little gobbet of info: did you know that HBC is in the habit of making car loans to it's employees? No, neither did I.

Last year this amounted to £600,000.

That's right, you read it correctly, they handed out SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS OF OUR MONEY SO THAT COUNCIL EMPLOYEES COULD GET CHEAPER CAR LOANS THAN THE REST OF US SCHMUCKS!

Sorry I'm Shouting, I'm just so Bl**dy angry!

Re: Strapped for cash
 

A few suggestions to balance the books for the coming year

On 2003/2004 figures a 3% cut in salaries and pensions would yield £565,290.
Calling in the car loans would yield a further £600,000

In addition how about cancelling the Mayor Making ceremony altogether?
How about selling off the Mayor's Car and making the drivers redundant.
How about cutting Councillor's allowances. How much fat would that trim from the accounts?

"Financial rigour" my backside!

Re: Strapped for cash
 

HBC paid our worthy town fathers a total of £191,900 in allowances in 2003/2004 which is up from £145,221 in the previous year. What the total for 2004/2005 will be is anyones guess, but you can bet it won't be less.

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We could do with someone in there to keep a tight grip on the purse strings.

Of course they could argue that the car loans are a source of income. I wonder if anybody ever defaults on them and what level of interest they pay.

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Well, it's got to be cheaper than getting a loan from anyone else, otherwise what would be the point.

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maybe they wouldn't be so in debt if they stopped proposing stupid ideas (tubbyland coppice!) and going ahead and doing it even though everyone opposed to it.

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Digging around, as you do, I came across an explanation of how much more of our money council employees are entitled to...

Meals allowances of up to £23.55 per day.

Eye tests £15 plus £50 towards the cost of glasses and a further £25 if necessary.

In addition to the car loan (this one kills me!) The authority will grant £62 per month towards the cost of a car loan taken out with the authority.

Additional Life Insurance paid by the Authority for all employees.

Health screening for Principal Officers.

Reductions on Leisure Services of 20% to 50%.

Use of a free Mini Gym at Cannon Street.

25 year long service award, currently £350.

Relocation Expenses:£3,500 plus...

Legal Fees for purchase/sale of property
Estate Agents Fees
Moving expenses
Surveyors fees for valuation and mortgage
Storage Charges
Indemnity Insurance
£1000 contribution to new furnishings.

And they still cannot keep the streets clean or collect the rubbish efficiently. It is perhaps no wonder that they cannot balance the books. Something for you to think about while you are slogging your guts out for £4.20 per hour and worrying how you will be able to afford this years council tax increase.

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£23.55 per day for meals!!!!! Where and what are they eating at our expense????? Or, is this merely the cost of taking chief pen-pushers from various regeneration funding boards to lunch, then frittering the grants on half assed projects.

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Have just decided to emigrate back to Accy and get a job on the council