At last night’s full council meeting, members voted 22-13 to pass the Conservative administration’s budget proposals (Cllrs Tyndall, Chapman and Perks were not present, Cllr Jones-Evans left before the vote). They will see a 5.99% council tax rise and £7.5m of cuts to services in the coming financial year. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council has set its budget for 2018/19.
Councillor Dave Stewart, leader of the council, said,
“This budget moves us into a positive financial position and provides the council with much needed financial sustainability. It provides a firm foundation for future growth and is in line with our corporate plan.
“On the back of this budget we can have a more mature conversation with government about the Island’s unique characteristics that impact our funding position.”
The principles of the budget continue to be consistent with the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy that was agreed in 2016.
Dave continued:
“The budget specifically includes a strategy for ‘smoothing out’ our financial gap repayments going forward. It also underpins our resilience by increasing our reserves, which had been in a ‘high risk’ position at just £5 million, but will now be raised to £11.2 million by the end of next year. Such a reserve provides flexibility and opportunity for the council to capitalise on investment opportunities and enable us to cover risks.
“We are also investing in the Island’s future, with more than £10 million being spent on capital projects to benefit the Island in areas including regeneration, education and social care. While bringing something new to the Isle of Wight, these investments also help us to maximise income generation as a council, which will ultimately help to continue the delivery of council services to our community.”
Capital investments approved in the budget for regeneration include:
- £2.6 million to develop sites for employment and housing – creating up to 1,000 new jobs and the aim of providing £1 million of business rate revenue by 2021
- The opportunity for a £16 million development scheme at Kingston Marine Park in East Cowes to keep and grow marine manufacturing on the Island – retaining 200 jobs and creating a further 100 jobs – with the site and land secured this week
- £200,000 in an ambitious harbour masterplan for regeneration at the heart of Newport with the potential for creating 140 new homes, generating £900,000 of new business rate income and 200 new jobs.
Deputy Leader: “Tough decisions have had to be made
Councillor Stuart Hutchinson, Cabinet member for resources, said:
“We recognise that tough decisions have had to be made in this budget, however, we have made sure to create a hardship fund to support those most vulnerable within our community, on a case-by-case basis.
“In summary, this council now has a financial strategy that will stand this Island in good stead in the years to come that will enable us to grow our economy, provide jobs and keep the Island ‘open for business’.”
Image: lattefarsan under CC BY 2.0
