Council services facing huge cut
Oswestry residents could see a cut in services totalling nearly £50,000 next year as the borough council battles to narrow its budget gap.
The town's award winning street cleaning could be reduced and support for some community initiatives could be cut back in a bid to make savings. There are also proposals to increase car parking charges in the town.
The proposals are part of the draft budget plan for 2007/08 which has now gone out to public consultation.
Oswestry Borough Council is expected to set a net budget of £6,270,000 next year to keep within the council's pledge to raise council taxes by no more than three per cent a year.
But with the projected available resources standing at £6,222,000, the council is facing a budget gap of £48,000.
Chief finance officer Mark Taylor says in a report to councillors for the scrutiny committee meeting tomorrow, that his budget figures include taking £99,000 out of the council's reserves to be used to fund temporary posts in economic development and homelessness.
Yet this still leaves a budget gap of £48,000, equivalent to an increase of some 1.9 per cent in council tax, which the council will have to find through savings.
Mr Taylor says this is a sizable sum for the authority and detailed work will now have to be undertaken to look to reduce this gap as far as possible.