Today was the Birmingham City Council Budget.
Labour’s budget does not balance. It is £80million a year overspent by year 4, equal to a 27% Council Tax increase (£409 per a band D dwelling).
The sheer incompetence of this administration is summed up in the fact they have now had 8 CEOs in 8 years soon to be 9.
They claim to have no money yet have added £38.5 million to reserves out the extra funding they were given this year by the government.
Yet again we have seen a council that has failed to make the savings it promised year on year, We see the commonwealth games impacting the yearly revenue budget despite promises it wouldn't.
Birmingham is suffering from incompetent leadership not a lack of funding.
Birmingham is suffering from incompetent leadership not a lack of funding.
Some examples of waste and incompetence of the Labour Council:
❌ Spending £16 million for a bus depot in perry bar which was supposed to cost £2 million
❌ Spent over £2 million on gagging clauses on former council officers who have left
❌ Just launched a new leadership restructure spending £3.6 million on consultants to prepare it and increasing senior pay bill by £500k a year
❌ The leader of the Council promised that hosting the Commonwealth Games wouldn’t impact the budget of day-to-day services but now he’s gone back on that and had spent over £40m and it is going to cost a further £2 million a year for 40 years. That’s money that would have been used for local services in our community.
❌ For the paradise circus development in the city centre, they spent the budget for all 3 phases in just phase one and had to request another c£50m to complete phase 2 with Phase 3 yet to be financed.
❌ Caused an unneeded bin strike which caused havoc for months and cost the city over £15 Million.
Each year the Conservative Opposition percent an alternative budget which is fully costed and check by council officers. We were the only Party to offer a balanced budget. It would have:
- Seen the reintroduction free bulky waste collections,
- Neighborhood clean-up teams.
- Scrap the Garden Waste Tax
We would have invested in pollution-busting green infrastructure to clean our air and tackle the climate crisis and ending Labours' war on motorists in the city.
More CCTV to keep our areas safe and reduce crime.
But not just new spending - it would have seen council assets put to use, from abandoned houses to offices and shops which have laid empty bringing no money in and costing the taxpayer.
A reduction in the use of Agency staff, consultants, and interims would see millions saved a year and create a more stable workforce and leadership.
Cutting silly costs like support in private cabinet offices and the council's bloated oversized press and communications team.
Taking a pragmatic and sensible approach rather than just blaming others and doing little to tackle the problems of the city place is what Leadership is.
Sadly we have a regime that has an inability to balance the books, or make long-term decisions, and sadly us the taxpayer is paying for this incompetence.
