YORK’S council chiefs have revealed for the first time where the axe may fall as they lose millions of pounds from their budget.

City of York Council expects to face a shortfall of about £21 million for 2011/12 following severe Government cuts. Proposals for plugging that gap will be examined by leading councillors next week.

The authority expects to shed 170 jobs during the next financial year, although chief executive Kersten England says compulsory redundancies will be kept to a minimum.

Its final budget will be decided next month, but the initial proposed measures, unveiled yesterday, include:

• A possible 10p-an-hour rise in car park charges this autumn, raising an extra £50,000

• Cutting £60,000 in funding to tourism body Visit York and £80,000 to Science City York

• Saving £350,000 through a review of children’s centres, with some services possibly being withdrawn

• Raising some Newgate Market tolls and fees for hiring the Mansion House and Guildhall

• Saving £40,000 by reducing cycle training instructors, coupled with “above inflation” increases in charges

• Cutting £5,000 from schemes to reduce teenage pregnancy and promote sexual health

• A 50p charge for concessionary pass-holders boarding buses at Park&Ride sites to bring in an estimated £250,000

• Scaling back the staffed customer desk at the Designer Outlet Park&Ride site to save £40,000

• Raising £12,000 through a two per cent increase in ResPark charges and shaving £10,000 off the budget for new ResPark schemes

Council finance bosses say the predicted £21 million shortfall could be reduced to about £13.5 million through the council’s internal More for York cost-cutting programme, extra Government cash for adult social care, the provision of a Westminster grant if council tax is pegged and a potential national wage freeze for council employees, among other areas.

The authority expects to cut 650 posts over the next three years.

Ms England said: “We have some of the most dedicated staff I have ever worked with in the public sector, and their conduct, professionalism and the way they go the extra mile to provide quality services really impresses me.

“We are reducing management layers more than frontline staff, freezing recruitment, providing retraining and redeployment opportunities, meeting with other employers in the city and looking at voluntary severance and more flexible ways of working.

“York’s economy is in a strong place, but this will be one of the toughest budgets this council has ever faced.”

The council also proposes to save £31,000 by reducing the number of editions of its Your City newsletter from six a year to four. February’s edition has already been scrapped to save £8,000.

The authority’s Labour group has yet to formalise its budget proposals, but said yesterday they would include a one-off £75,000 payment to replace damaged bins in the city.


How the 2011 budget will be decided

THE budget proposals for a string of council departments will be the focus of meetings next week.

Next Tuesday, Coun Andrew Waller, the authority’s leader, and the executive members for city strategy, children and young people’s services and corporate services will examine suggestions for generating extra funds and saving money.

They will decide whether the potential measures fit the council’s priorities and submit their comments.

The authority’s executive members for leisure, culture and social inclusion, health and neighbourhoods and housing will follow suit later in the week.

Details of budget proposals for these areas have yet to be made public, but will emerge in the coming days.

The council’s ruling executive will finalise its proposals on February 15 and opposition parties will outline their proposals over the next few weeks. The final budget for 2011/12 will be set at a meeting of the full council on February 24.

Because of the hung status of the authority, this has become a more hotly contested and fraught process in recent years, offering the potential for political horse-trading between the rival factions on the council.