Financial Rescue Plan Needed for Gedling Council

Written by Cllr Tony Gillam on Sat 4th Oct 2008

Gedling Council Civic Centre, Arnold

Councillors have recently been told that Gedling Borough is heading for a £498,200 overspend on this year's budget. This enormous overspend is the only one we can remember in the last 26 years. It's taken Gedling's ruling Tories just 15 months of slackness to turn a financially sound council into a financial mess.

On Wednesday, September 3rd, they had to come to the Council meeting and ask for a £½m increase in this year's budget. The wording was written so that hardly anyone knew what was going on and the Council Leader just stood up and said he moved the minute. He gave no explanation, no indication that he understood the position and certainly no ideas on what they are going to do to put things right.

The Lib Dems, Labour and the Independents were all appalled at the attempted deception and the mess the Tories have gotten the council into, and voted against.

We said we would not vote to give them a blank cheque and that we expected to see a rescue plan before we would agree to give them any more money.

Of course, the Tories have a majority and voted for the budget increase. There is only one word for this-incompetence. Guess who's going to foot the bill?