South Ayrshire Council News

Making the best of available resources is crucial, and that is what South Ayrshire Council has done in setting its 2008/09 budget. It has a planned total expenditure of 257.09 million pounds.

There will be no rise in Council Tax charges in the next financial year, so the
Band D Level will remain at its 2007/08 level of £1,153.95. Provided the promised funding from the Scottish Government is forthcoming then there will no rise in 2009/10 or 2010/11 either.

At a special meeting of the full Council, Councillor Hugh Hunter, Leader of the Council, submitted the proposals of the Council’s Budget Working Group, which were approved by the Council. Speaking about the budget he said: “Everyone has to work within their household budget, they have to look at how much they have to spend, the things that they must pay for, and then consider what to do with any surplus. The Council is no different. We have to consider the needs of people across South Ayrshire, prioritise services and make the best use of the resources available to us.

“I firmly believe that this budget is good news for the people of South Ayrshire, both local residents and businesses. It will encourage economic development, help existing businesses to thrive, and encourage others to locate their businesses in South Ayrshire.

“With any budget setting tough decisions have to be made and I am proud of the positive direction in which the Council is moving. I truly believe that by working together Council staff, Councillors, residents and business people can make South Ayrshire flourish and put it firmly on the map in Scotland and internationally as a great place to live, work, visit and play.

“Council staff work in partnership with others throughout South Ayrshire to provide the best level of services that they can. I would like to thank all of our staff for their dedication and commitment to the Council, but more importantly to the people of South Ayrshire.

“By adopting this budget the Council can move forward and look towards a brighter future with confidence.” 

The budget has been designed to provide a firm financial foundation for the Council to build on in future years. Provisions within the budget include:

• Financial reserves – achieving general reserves of £1.5 million towards the previously agreed target of £2 million.
• Social Work – an additional £4.8 million to assist in the delivery of vital services and to support the free personal care policy, with £600,000 of this being used for homecare provision for older people.
• Review of Public Conveniences – refurbishment of many conveniences over the next three years with £450,000 to meet costs in 2008/09 and further investment in the following two years.
• Reducing class sizes –savings arising from school roll reductions from 2009/10 will be used to progress the Scottish Government’s desire to reduce class sizes in primary and secondary schools.
• Previous Civic Pride projects move to core funding - £178,000 to provide: floral enhancement in Ayr, Troon, Girvan, Ballantrae, Alloway and Maybole; environmental ‘hit squad’ to target graffiti, litter and roadside litter throughout the year; opening of public conveniences at the Pavillion, Ayr, and St Meddans Street, Troon from Easter until the end of September; additional street sweeping in towns and villages throughout the year; and maintenance and cleaning of public beaches to ‘seaside awards’ standard.
• Kinship care for children - £100,000 to ease the burden for carers on low fixed incomes, particularly grandparents, who are left to take care of their children.
• Respite care for children with disabilities - £100,000.
• Classroom supplies - an additional £100,000 to spend on classroom supplies.
• Womens Aid – continue to support and work along with the organisation recognising that they will require £20,000 less support from the Council in 2008/09.
• Common Good Funds -reprioritising of the Ayr Common Good fund over a three year period to enable Common Good investment in Ayr Town Centre Renaissance.
• Planning Department - £292,000 to strengthen the Planning section and recruit more staff to support economic growth.
• Civic Pride - in 2008/09 £322,000 to be used for the following projects: Year of Homecoming community events; Forces Homecoming Ceremony later this year to honour and celebrate the return of Ayrshire services personnel; funding for the Renaissance of Ayr Town Centre along with Ayr Common Good Fund; continuing support for the SafeAyr Zone initiative and development of promotional and seasonal lighting; promotional banners to enhance tourism and economic development and ‘seedcorn’ funding to attract major tourism and economic development events to South Ayrshire.
• Community Councils and other Community Organisations - to be encouraged to apply to the Council for funding for community events that relate to the 2009 Year of Homecoming themes of whisky, golf, Burns, ancestry, enlightenment and innovation, to enable communities to start preparing for the year of celebration and to allow them to apply for match funding from the various Homecoming Funds. The Council is keen to see a geographical spread of funding to ensure that projects take place throughout South Ayrshire.
• Waste Management - 1.4 million pounds added to their budget to continue to deliver quality services. The Recycling Centre at Prestwick will close but there is a new state of the art centre less than two miles away at Heathfield in Ayr, one in Troon and other recycling facilities across South Ayrshire.