Moray Council budget is a ‘dark day for Buckie’ as 10% council tax rise piles pressure on families
Moray Council’s budget for 2025-26 has been met with a mixed reaction by Buckie’s three councillors.
The budget was approved on Wednesday, February 26 amid a background of yet more funding cuts.
Householders are set to be hit in the pocket with a 10 per cent rise in council tax over the coming financial year, with indicative rises of 10 per cent and six per cent for the two years following that. It means a Band D property will face a 28 per cent in council tax in 2027 compared to last year, taking the bill from £1431 last year to £1835.
Among the likely funding cuts is no cash towards revamping on rebuilding Buckie Community High School.
Councillor Sonya Warren (Buckie, SNP) said it had been a “challenging” budget.
She continued: In my 10 years as a Moray councillor I feel this has been the most challenging budget yet, even although the council received the largest ever settlement from the Scottish Government.
“This has been the one where having no money in the coffers has come home to roost making us face very difficult choices. I believe this to be mostly caused by many years of austerity budgets from the UK government.
“Nobody becomes a councillor to cut much needed services or to make life more uncomfortable or unaffordable for our communities. However, the harsh reality is this is exactly what we are having to do to balance the budget.
“We have recently had to save our libraries from closure. The leisure estate is under review plus we have had the hard-hitting news that there is no money in the coffers to rebuild or refurbish Buckie High school. The council need to do a proper place planning exercise for the facilities in the east of Moray.
“At present we are in a very worrying position now. There needs to be a full review if what can be afforded for Buckie.”
Councillor Warren went on to say that urge to reduce the impact of the cost of living crisis on Moray families was behind the SNP opposition group’s proposal to keep the council tax rise under 10 per cent.
She continued: Had it not been for the drastic increases in the employers National Insurance contributions in the last UK budget, the rise in our council tax here in Moray would have been significantly less.
“The SNP group’s intention in submitting our alternative proposal was to recognise the pressures people are under to pay all their rising bills, and also recognise that some families are facing very stark choices.
“We know that one in four children in Moray, including children in Buckie, live in poverty. We aimed to provide support to those families that need it most.
However the Conservative administration along with the Labour group voted to force the council tax up to 10 per cent.
“The SNP group calculated that we could afford a 9.7 per cent rise and still support some of the most vulnerable families.
“For the second time in three years this Tory/Labour alliance has piled the financial pressure on the people of Moray. It was galling to hear the council leader say she was ‘delighted’ to impose this tax hike and heap more financial pressure on our communities.
“The SNP group is serious about tackling child poverty and fighting for our local families.”
Councillor John Stuart (Buckie, Independent), along with fellow local Independent councillor Neil McLennan, formulated amendments to the Tory administration group’s budget, but these were not ruled to be competent. He went on to call for “transformational change” in the way the council operates.
He continued: “The people of Moray will be concerned about the council tax rises and what this means to their household budgets.
“I am concerned regarding how little there was left to tinker with. The amendments that were on the table on budget day, played about with the vacancy threshold figure, at a time when we need these vacancies filled to deliver for Moray.
“We need transformational change to many things we do, to become more efficient.
“We have the untold outcome for Buckie High with the capital budget, where next?
“So, from my point of view, we need to all work together to make things better for the people of Moray.”
Councillor McLennan said the budget was a “truly dark day” for people in Buckie.
He said: “The good people of Buckie have understandably reflected serious frustrations at a budget which hikes up their council tax and yet there is no sign of a new Buckie High on the horizon.
“I fully understand their frustration as was the only councillor to abstain. Beyond the concerning Conservative budget, there was little else to choose from. SNP and Labour amendments both relied on changing vacancy management percentage. This is a terrible message for council staff, many of whom work additionally hard when vacancies cannot be filled.
“This budget will plunge many into debt and poverty alongside increased energy costs. People have been badly let down.
”It was truly dark day though for Buckie. In 2023 a balanced budget was presented to this council by me which was deemed incompetent. I am still asking question about that decision. The budget I presented did not raid reserves (as others have described to me); it did not hammer the taxpayer (as others have described to me); and it had a fully funded new Buckie High School whilst not impacting on good progress with a new Forres Academy.
“This week we had no budget from political parties with any ability to achieve a new Buckie High School. Opportunities have been missed and Moray reserves have been depleted.
“People suffer and Buckie especially suffers.”
Elsewhere in the budget, Moray Council had already agreed £5.5 million of cuts for the coming year, but approved an extra £2 million of savings at the Full Council meeting.
In addition to the SNP amendment, one from the Labour group was also considered and later withdrawn.
Councillors backed the administration budget against the SNP option by 17 votes to eight, with one abstention.
