5 May (Part 1) - Hidden in the Accounts
Providing
a cycle track alongside yellow lines as if cyclists are not supposed to ride over
them may seem stupid but it is the sort of thing which all road users in Bexley
will have become used to; but what if the council’s control of the purse stings was
every bit as bad? Maybe that is why Bexley has fallen from third lowest
tax among London boroughs to 24th in the time I have lived in the borough -
25 years next Monday, I won’t be celebrating.
Unfortunately trawling through the accounts is intrinsically boring but
occasionally a few simple facts will shine through. Sometimes it isn’t even
necessary to go through the accounts, things can accidentally jump out during
council meetings. Take the
Finance Committee meeting last March for example. Maureen Holkham (Deputy
Director, Corporate Policy & Communications) said it was costing Bexley council
£53 an hour to answer Freedom of Information requests. At a time when the council
is trying to save £35 million over three years that is surprising for in
the equivalent meeting a year before
a figure of £40 an hour was announced. Either way it was well above government
guidelines for FOIs and a 33% cost increase in the past year won't help reach that £35
million target. So where is the money being saved?
The accounts show what is to be spent this year against last in each Directorate. Nothing much
changes in the realms of Adult Services or Children’s Services. Environment is
static too; so the money must be coming from somewhere else. Like from you and
me perhaps. Education takes a 23·46% hit. Community Safety gets knocked back by 25·3%
and Leisure by 6·6%. (3·9m., 0·7m. and 0·8m. pounds respectively). However there
is one Directorate that gets a useful boost; expenditure on Corporate Services goes up by 9·5%.
Yes that is right; they are going to spend another £1·2 million on themselves. Tuckley’s
quarter million salary package is safe.