Pressure is mounting on Aberdeen’s finance convener to spill the beans on the council budget – or risk a repeat of the furious scenes that erupted last year.
SNP councillor Alex McLellan will reveal where the estimated £20.4m cuts will fall in fewer than six weeks.
It will follow a raging year of announcements and back-pedals from the SNP and Liberal Democrats running the city.
Closures of libraries and Bucksburn swimming pool were at the centre of the storm, which eventually led to legal action being launched.
Aberdeen City Council has since committed to reopening Bucksburn pool.
However, the libraries remain mothballed, and listed for disposal on the local authority’s site.
How much was the Aberdeen City Council budget consultation worth?
After the row, the SNP and Lib Dems ventured on a two-stage public consultation – asking citizens where cuts would be most stomachable.
Only 2,654 – or just over 1% – of the city’s 220,000 people tried to balance the books to save £83 million over the next four years.
That total included a £35m budget hole for the coming 2024-25 year but this shortfall has now been revised down to £20.4m.
First Minister Humza Yousaf outdated the consultation input before everyone had a chance to have their say though…
He froze council tax at 5% for the coming year, despite chief finance officer Jonathan Belford planning for an 8% rise.
‘Damaged confidence’ in SNP finance convener
As a result, the Conservatives on Aberdeen City Council are calling for faith to be restored by the administration.
Cuts are inevitable this time next month, the public has been warned.
And, due to their numbers advantage, it is likely the savings put forward by the ruling group will be voted through.
In a letter to finance convener Mr McLellan, seen by The P&J, the Tories stated: “It’s fair to say public confidence in you has been damaged.”
Group leader Ryan Houghton and his deputy Rick Brooks wrote: “While we note your attempts to have a wider budget consultation with the public, the response rate was low and it was published before the Scottish Government council tax measures.
“These, criticised by your own colleagues, have changed the council’s ability to structure its budget and invalidates to some extent the framework the public were offered.
“For the sake of transparency and to restore public confidence, we believe that you should publish your proposed budget no later than three days prior to the meeting.”
Mr Houghton did not pre-publish the budget he moved in March 2022 when he was finance convener.
But now he and Mr Brooks argue that doing so would provide residents, charities, businesses and community groups the chance to feed back, ahead of the budget vote.
While UK eyes will be on the Chancellor of the Exchequer for Westminster’s budget, Aberdeen’s will be on the finance convener on March 6.
Mr Brooks, who will take over as lead of his Conservative group soon after the budget, told The P&J: “Last year’s SNP/Lib Dem budget fiasco cannot be repeated.
“It was only thanks to court action by community groups that some of their decisions reversed.”
Aberdeen City Council finance convener: ‘Our door is always open’
But his calls appear to be denied.
The Press and Journal offered the finance convener the opportunity to publish the budget proposals ahead of March 6.
But his concerns over colleagues reading his plans in the press before hearing them in council chambers meant he declined.
However, he intimated an openness to talks ahead of the budget with councillors behind closed doors.
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Mr McLellan said: “The budget engagement has provided the public with an overview of the savings options officers are putting in front of elected members.
“The SNP and Lib Dem partnership’s door is always open to any councillor or political group who wish to discuss the budget in advance of the meeting or how we can improve processes moving forward.”
And he laid down a challenge to his opponents to put their money where their mouths are.
“If political groups want to publish their budget in advance of the budget meeting, this could be considered as part of the annual governance review,” he added.
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