Issue - meetings

Report of Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets, Councillor Alisha Lewis

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the interim budget proposals for consultation including a proposed council tax for the services provided by Cheltenham Borough Council are approved. The proposed Council tax for 2025/26 represents an increase of 2.99% a year for a Band D property, subject to the publication and consultation on the Local Government Provisional Finance Settlement;

2.    the schedule of target savings and income generation at Appendix 3 is noted;

3.    the growth proposals at Appendix 4 are approved;

4.    the proposed capital programme at Appendix 6, as outlined in Section 13 is approved;

5.    following the publication of the Local Government Provisional Finance Settlement, authority is delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive (Section 151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets, to determine and approve any additional material that may be needed to support the presentation of the interim budget proposals for public consultation;

6.    consultation responses to be received by 31 January 2025.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets said that she had discarded her original budget speech, predicated on the idea that the budget set for the next year would underpin the long-term financial future of Cheltenham, following the recent publication of the government’s English Devolution White Paper.

She said she had come into local government believing it to be one of the most worthwhile forms of public service, based on the belief that the future of their town and the country as a whole could be brilliant when people give their time, talents and local knowledge to paving the way for that future.  Long-term plans for local government have been made secure in the knowledge that when one councillor could no longer carry the mantle, someone else would follow.  

This is why the budget now needs different framing in the current context.  In one unfortunate stroke from central government, the council’s role in safeguarding the money that Cheltenham has been granted through years of wise investment and careful management has fundamentally changed, and we have no choice as a council but to make the best decisions we can for our remaining lifespan – without knowing how long that might be. We may be in the last years where decisions about Cheltenham’s future and how it spends its money are made in Cheltenham, by the people who know the town best.  She said that decisions made now will set how decades of careful financial management and investment strategies play out over the next few years. 

She reminded Members that the paper is a consultative document, and there may be some changes over the festive period while officers work out how to ensure that every last penny is invested for Cheltenham’s long-term future.  The budget is a prudent plan for long-term recovery, creating breathing space, room for innovation and smart choices,  and space to make the decisions to ensure the long-term future carries on in the way liberals and those who believe in local democracy believe it should. Officers and Members know that doing the right thing is expensive but are confident that they will find a way; the budget proposals are the pinnacle of how we have managed to do so much with so little to date, and plan to do more.

She ended by commending the budget to Members, and thanking officers who have spent years ensuring that Cheltenham has the budget to do everything it can.

The Cabinet Member for Major Developments and Housing Delivery agreed with everything the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets said, noting that the government’s white paper was currently being analysed throughout the country, and thought that by the end of the consultation period, we may have a better understanding of its implications.  The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets agreed, but said the principle is that this is Cheltenham’s money, and we will do everything we can to ensure it is spent on and for Cheltenham.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6