THE bill for repairs and maintenace at York’s three traveller sites has broken the council’s budget every year on every site for three years, figures have revealed.

City of York Council spent more than £300,000 between 2008 and 2011 at the sites in Osbaldwick, Clifton and James Street, when it had budgeted to spend less than £120,000.

Repair costs, which included brickwork, plumbing, rubbish clearance, pest control, electrical, fire safety servicing and general joinery, reached £46,430 at the James Street site in 2008/09, more than four times higher than the budgeted spend of just £10,350.

Tory group leader Ian Gillies said it was a ‘disgrace’ that budgets had been allowed to overspend by such a margin, year on year, adding: “Financial management appears to have totally failed.”

Independent councillor Mark Warters, who obtained the figures, said: “At a time of austerity and cuts, it appears that under the council’s equality and diversity policies, some people are more equal than others.”

But Lib Dem leader Carol Runciman said the sites were long established and therefore needed increasing amounts of maintenance, adding there was always rental income to supplement any investment made.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Labour cabinet member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services, said the sites were built between 12 and 40 years ago, and reactive repair budgets had been underfunded. Nor had there been any planned capital investment to maintain utilities and accommodation over the years.

“As a result, work that would normally be managed as part of the planned maintenance budget, including rewiring, collapsed drains and general repair works, have been funded from reactive repair budgets. The council has as part of the 2012/13 capital programme taken steps to address this.”

Meanwhile, separate figures obtained by Coun Warters show that over four years, residents at the three sites were due to pay £179,349 in council tax. They received council tax benefits of £169,688, leaving them to pay a net charge of £9,661 however just over £5,904 was paid.

About £220,000 is also to be spent over this financial year on the renovation of amenity blocks at the three sites, which officers say “should save the council money in the long term by reducing the need for responsive repairs”.