Whether it is a government, a company, or a household budget, most of us know that running finances on a sound footing and living within our means is vital in ensuring we have a level of security for the future.
Crawley Borough Council is no different and the good services it provides can only be sustained for the long-term if difficult decisions are faced up to by Councillors. Indeed, many services have been protected for the long-term thanks to Conservative control of the Council from 2006 to 2014 when we made £8 million worth of efficiency savings, most of which were opposed by Labour.
Now that Labour are responsible for the Council’s finances as they were prior to 2006, I fear that history will repeat itself and that once again we will see the fudging of taking the necessary financial decisions that will ensure the Council remains in good shape to provide future services. The omens are not good as the Budget Strategy being voted on at this week’s Full Council meeting shows.
The Council’s Budget Strategy is the financial planning for the next three years. What is alarming is that it is proposed to deviate away from the current status quo of having a balanced budget and then hoping to balance it again in three years’ time. This is the same three-year plan to balance the budget that the last Labour Council had before 2006. What happens is they move the goalposts and forever defer the date that the budget will be balanced.
I believe the new Labour Council should start as they mean to go on. Therefore, in order to focus minds on this vitally important decision, I have tabled an amendment to the Budget Strategy for this week’s Full Council meeting, proposing that the Council’s Budget continues to be balanced from next year. I genuinely believe this is achievable without pain and if Labour accepts this, we can work together in maintaining the Council sound finances so that good services can continue to be provided for years to come.
Councillor Duncan Crow
Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group