Moray Council shows rare agreement as it sets budget
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The "spirit of bonhomie" flowed through Moray Council's chambers this morning as the local authority agreed its annual budget unanimously.
In stark contrast to the political in-fighting witnessed in previous years, the council instead managed to set a cross-party budget for the first time in a decade.
The local authority agreed to freeze the council tax following the Scottish Government provision of almost £2.5million for this purpose.
Meanwhile, most of the £2.7million savings finalised today had already been agreed earlier in the year.
These include reducing the opening hours of recycling centres, retiring the mobile library bus, halving the financial support for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, reducing the size of the council's customer service team and taking a "more commercial approach" to industrial rents.
In addition, cash will be spent on providing extra community wardens and youth workers in Moray.
However today's £278.8million budget was set alongside a warning that most of the £19.2million shortfall in finances will be met from the council's own reserves.
Also mentioned was the need to make further savings of £13million next year.
Introducing the budget, Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative), the council's leader, said: "It should be recognised that continued reduction in real term funding seems inevitable given other Scottish Government commitment and generally downbeat forecasts for the Scottish economy.
"It needs to be acknowledged that without significant increases in core funding the financial outlook for Scottish local authorities appears bleak."
Mention was made of the £138million investment that has been secured to strengthen Moray’s economic infrastructure over coming the decade.
This includes cash from the Moray Growth Deal, plus £18million from the Levelling Up Fund and £20million for town centre redevelopment.
Cllr Roberson also paid tribute to her opposite numbers for the help they'd provided in setting and agreeing the budget.
She name-checked Sandy Keith (Elgin North, Labour), Draeyk van der Horn (Forres, Greens), plus the SNP's joint leaders Shona Morrison (Fochabers/Lhanbryde) and Graham Leadbitter (Elgin South).
Cllr Leadbitter said: "The council tax freeze, which is fully funded by the Scottish Government, will be welcomed by households the length and breadth of Moray during the Tory’s cost of living crisis, which is hitting households harder than most other western countries."
For his part, cllr Keith questioned whether the freeze was being fully funded, and also briefly criticised both the Conservatives' and the SNP's commitment to local government.
Yet the level of political disagreement in the chamber remained so mild that cllr Derek Ross (Speyside/Glenlivet, Independent) declared "a spirit of bonhomie has broken out".
John Cowe (Heldon and Laich, Independent), the council's convenor, congratulated his colleagues for having put their political difference aside in order to co-operate with each other in setting the budget.
He said: "I believe this has been a tremendous day .
"It's really very rewarding to see we can all work together to benefit the people of Moray."
The report prepared for today's meeting by council officers gave a warning for the future.
It stated: "The council has made savings totalling £58million since 2010/11 and it is increasingly difficult to identify areas where further savings can be made whilst delivering the statutory duties of a local authority
"This is a difficult environment in which to make financial decisions and prudence must be the watchword."
