There is no doubt that local government is facing some really bleak times, and South Cambs is no exception. Apart from the recession and the huge consequent scaling back of public finances, other causes for South Cambs' position is the relative wealth of the area, and a historic desire to charge a very low rate to its residents.
What this means is that South Cambs is rarely a beneficiary of any national schemes, where money is taken from some local authorities and redistributed to poorer ones. As a rule of thumb, the flow of such money tends to be from the south to the north.
The historically low rate has meant that increases, even of just below the "cap" imposed by the government, of 4.5%, are small - maybe six pounds a year. The surge in Cambridge sub-region building and the current fall-back of development has meant that the planning department has had to expand and now scale back - meaning some good people in the planning department are facing redundancy. South Cambs is working with neighbour councils to see if there are synergies which can help here, so that things we are good at can be done for other councils, and having "spoke and hub" expertise. Some good things are still being pushed forward - recycling bins to help us meet the new targets, for example.
But it is tough - especially on the officers who provide a good level of service to the people of South Cambs.
No comments:
Post a Comment