UNION leaders are warning of another year of cuts to budgets and a council tax hike after it emerged Scotland’s largest council needs to plug a £19.7million hole.
Glasgow City Councillors will meet later this week to set the budget for the coming financial year but trade union UNISON says it looks like yet another year of cuts to service budgets and claimed council tax rises are on the cards.
Brian Smith, UNISON Branch Secretary, said: "Glasgow's councillors should use some of the city's unallocated reserves of £31M to set a "no cuts" budget, and then lead a proper campaign to win more money for the city. This has been a consistent call from the trade unions and it remains a serious alternative to just passing on cuts year after year. Glasgow needs more money and meekly managing austerity budgets from both Holyrood and Westminster has been a failed strategy."
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The union, which has about half the trade union membership with 12,500 members, added there is also nothing in the officers’ budget paper on how the council intends to deal with the ongoing equal pay liabilities and that the council had only partially settled up to March 2018.Trade unions are currently balloting 14,000 council workers for strike action.
Mr Smith added: “It's the elephant in the room that the council seem to hope will just go away. That is never going to happen. Glasgow's women workers will make sure of that.”
Glasgow City Council treasurer Councillor Ricky Bell, SNP, said he is in a “much happier” position than he was just weeks ago.
He claimed an extra £14.2m from the Scottish Government had improved the financial outlook, with plans now being put in place to invest in the city, including to help tackle the cost of living crisis.
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A document was drawn up setting out savings options suggested by council officers when the city was facing a £34m spending gap.
It included withdrawing a holiday scheme which provides free food to children, scrapping swimming lessons for primary aged pupils and increasing crematorium charges.
Councillor Bell said the annual paper is produced to give councillors options for discussion and he has managed “to avoid most of the horrible ones” in the report.
However, cuts will need to be made to cover the almost £20m shortfall and a council tax rise could be on the cards. Although funding allocated by the Scottish Government was with an expectation that council tax increases will not exceed inflation.
The city treasurer has a “provisional” proposal for council tax, which he believes is “reasonable”, but negotiations are ongoing with opposition parties.
Glasgow’s SNP group doesn’t have enough councillors to pass a budget without support from other groups and has struck deals with the Greens in recent years.
At stage two of the Scottish Government budget, finance secretary Kate Forbes announced a further £120m for local government, including £14.2m for Glasgow, which reduced the city’s spending gap to £19.7m.
Councillor Bell said: “That has made a huge difference for us. It’s meant we can start to look at some investment.
“We’re in a much better position than we were after Kate Forbes’ first announcement, when I was really concerned.
“Clearly, I don’t think there is ever going to be enough money for Glasgow, but we’ve got to work with what we’ve got.”
Cllr Bell said he has listened to city residents, who have raised issues over cleansing services, potholes and the cost of living crisis.
However, unions and the Glasgow Against Closures group are planning to protest outside the city chambers ahead of the meeting and want to see a “no cuts budget” announced.
Mr Smith added: “We don’t know the city government’s proposals yet however most expect at least a 3% rise in council tax, which raises just under £7m.
“That would leave around £13m in service cuts or higher charges for the people of Glasgow.”
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