New Wiltshire council - Ripping us off already ?

Chepfer · New Wiltshire council - Ripping us off already ?

I've heard on the grapevine, that the new Wilts Council will be saving us money, or at least spending it more wisely !.

How you ask ?!

Well for starters, i've heard that the adaptations programme budget offered to the elderly and disabled, for things like accessable bathrooms, ramps and the like is to be more than halved !!!!!.

So if you've got a relative waiting for help, then you'll be waiting a long old time.

So in fact when they say, we're going to be saving you thousands ........... you know where a big chunk of it is now coming from.

Makes me mad !.

kathy27

GREAT!!!!!!

Im waiting for them to put in some ramps for my 82yr old father who has been in and out of hospital for most of last year, now he is wheelchair bound, the only way into our house is up steps, we have had a visit from the ot and she told us we would be put on a waiting list to have the work done (hopefully by the spring)
Other than that i have to lift my father (who is not a small man) up the steps in his wheelchair by myself.
Guess whos gonna be putting their back out very soon then!!

Chepfer

This really will affect more people than you might think !.

Peter Dolman

The proposed budget does not seem to have any reductions in the sector you indictated. I understand that the proposed budget for the new authority is being discussed shortly and will reflect an increase of 3.5% over last year.
The predicted savings resulting from the move to a unitary authority is in the region of £8.5m in the year 2009/10 (that is based on the combined budget for the WCC and the 4 district councils)

There was a proposal to introduce charges for accessing the internet at libraries, rightly so this I understand has been shelved. This could have raised almost £150,000 in a full year.

If you are unhappy with any "rumors" regarding proposed spending you really should speak to your current county or district councils, but you best do so quickly!

Chepfer

With all respect Peter, i work in this field and have been in discussions about the effect it will have.

Presently there is a budget of approximately £1,000,000 this will be reduced to little over £250,000 next year.

I'd love to see where you have obtained your info from, it would not surprise me if you have seen something else though.

Theres alot going on that is hidden or sold as something else and having first hand experiance, i don't trust anything that is said at present.

The whole transfer is a real shambles at the moment and i'd hold back for a year if i were a councillor before becoming elected and let the dirt get carried away before joining !.

Peter Dolman

It is a very diffilcult period melding the 5 councils into one and the budget will be not be to everyones liking I am sure.
I understand that the care budget is one area that is causing some problems.
Its not helped by the fact that Wiltshire is getting less money than any other comparable council from the central government. Also monies lost to Icelandic banks and reduced interest payments are having an adverse effect.
As you will be aware the government also has a cap of 5% on council tax increases, if it goes above that the government reduces it grant by the same amount.

The current crop of councillors and officers have some diffilcult decisions to make!

Biggles

well this sums it up even more what ive just read

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/...o_rise_as___832m_budget_approved/

they expected to save 6 million, they actually saved 8 million and still they up the tax by 3.5% (more than the government inflation figure)

so where is the saving for us tax payeers, looks like the new council is telling porkies already like the last one

and with the rumoured cost cutting in the disabled budget and no doubt soon the fortnightly bin collection (so we fit in with the rest of Wiltshire as i doubt they will all go back to weekly) where is all the "savings" going

so much for saving us money

Chepfer

We had this exact same discussion yesterday .........

I'm sure the council will be "paying us" to to take our own recylcled materials to the tips soon as well.

The bin collections as well, half the collections as we have now ! but charging us more ..... hmnnnn.

The disabled adaptation programme has been revised now and we'll not be losing any money ........ it'll be staying the same as before ...... Phew !

Peter Dolman

Waste collection costs are escallating in part due to the cost of land full. The goverment introduced the land fill tax in an effort to get more waste recycled. This tax is due to increase year on year at a rate in excess of inflation.

The 2 district councils who collect rubbish fortnightly recycle far more than the 2 who are still on weekly collection. Its a fact it costs more to have a weekly collection. If every one wants to continue to with weekly collection then we will all have to pay more council tax, another fact.

I would like to see more and more rubbish recycled, most people accept that our natural resources are limited. Fortnightly collection focuses mind on recycling and is proven to ensure it happens.

I am emotionally attached to weekly collections but if you look at the facts it makes sense to go to fortnightly. I don't like it but it seems that this is the way that it will go.

rosco

Peter Dolman

I can see where you are coming from Rosco but the facts are quite unambiguous the fortnightly waste collection with collection of recycling waste on the alternative week. Effectively you get weekly collections but waste one week and recycling the next.
This does increase the rate/tonnage of recycling, don't ask me why but it does. This is the experience not only in Wiltshire but in other parts of the country.
The new Unitary Authority will have to decide which option to take for a policy for the whole of the county, you cannot have 2 different systems!

The reason why the cost of waste collection is set to increase is in part due to inflation but also due to increase in landfill tax as I have previously stated. It is set to double and double again, this additional cost will have to be paid by the residents.

Recycling will generate revenue, ok not quite as much as it did do, and will not attract any landfill tax. In principle if you can recycle enough you should be able to offset the cost of the waste collection/disposal.

Chuck · No to once every 2 weeks

Have to say regardless I pledge I will vote against alternate weekly collections if I ge tthe chance. I don't want it most people I work with don't want it and we simply need to convince people that recycling is a good thing not a must do thing as there is no room in the bins!

Chuck (not political but personal!)

Peter Dolman

nice try Chuck but the fortnightly collections were, as I understand it introduced by Conservative councils and that the County council (Tory controlled) have ambitions to introduce it across the county.

As a matter of principle I am not in favour of it but the arguement for is getting stronger and stronger.

You are right if everyone would recycle as much as possible it would not be an issue.

Chuck

Peter you may not know that Eric Pickles said at a policy meeting that Conservatives should not progress AWCs. Anyway I have and will reamin against it unless the popular view is in favour in which case I will follow what the public's view is - my personal view is not in favour of AWCs and I WILL vote against (if I get the chance) that is a given.

Chuck

Peter Dolman

Chuck sorry I missed you when you called this evening, my wife appreciated the opportunity to read leaflets other than mine.

I do have some issues with the claim "the district council worked hard to turn around the leisure centres"

Until my initial telephone call to Viv Vines the district council were still hoping that Athena Leisure were going to be the saviours, which patently they were never going to.

The first presentation by CLAG was on the 29th June 2007 followed by the 2nd and last on the 6th July 2007. At that time all the district council did was analyse our business plan.

We applied for a grant of £60k, the money the district council were going to use to close the leisure centre. We applied to the area 5 committee for £75k, this was money for the Calne area unspent over several years.

There has been subsequent grant for a lift and pool hoist, both to bring the centre up to the minimum required to comply with current DDA legislation.

The officers of the council were very helpful during our efforts to reopen the centre, most I suspect because they did not think it should have closed.

So I would be very interested to hear exactly what the Conservative District Council actually did!

The truth is that the Conservative could have stopped Calne & Cricklade Leisure Centres closing. The budget which resulted in the closures was, I admit, proposed by the Lib Dems as the controlling group. The Conservatives failed to vote against it, why?

FACT, at that time the Conservatives had 1 more councillor than the Lib Dems so if they (the conservatives) had voted with the independant councillors neither leisure centre would have shut.

FACT the conservatives were calling for the closure of leisure centres at least 12 before it happened.

FACT the conservatives had no plans to reopen the leisure centres when they took control of the district council in 2007.

So please stop trying to make out that your party did more than it did. I am happy that the important people know who did what but Chuck as an outsider how could you have known?

New Wiltshire council - Ripping us off already ?

No to once every 2 weeks