Our response to the challenge of tough choices…
TSR11 Staffing and staff related costs
(Saving £614,700)
Our staff are the Council’s most valuable asset and we have seen
great improvements in the productivity and performance in recent
years. Staff sickness has halved over the last two years and is now
well below the average for councils.
However, staff costs account for nearly half
the Council’s expenditure and, in the face of tough grant
settlements from central government, we have to look at how we can
keep these costs in check. To achieve this, we have just negotiated
a move away from costly and unaffordable formula-driven pay rises
to more affordable and realistic pay levels.
The Council will also continue to carefully
manage vacant posts and, where possible, look at deleting these
posts if they are no longer required. This will be part of an
ongoing review, which will look at our systems, processes and
staffing levels in comparison to other councils.
Additional savings are likely to arise in
future years, based on the roll-out of document scanning and
workflow technology – the application of which has halved
processing times for Housing Benefits. We are also looking at more
effective procurement and scale economies through sharing services
with neighbouring councils.
These approaches are in line with those
proposed by the Department of Communities and Local Government.
TSR12 Cutting the cost of council accommodation and
making more use of buildings paid for at public
expense
(Saving £200,000)
The Council expects to cut its overheads significantly over the
next two years by reviewing and reorganising its office
accommodation. This will also generate about £1m of valuable
receipts for reinvestment in services to residents.
The main proposals here include:
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- Basing all office staff in the Cecil Street offices
- Sale of vacant office buildings or those for which achieving
DDA compliance would be costly – 44 Hawley Square (now sold),
Post Office building in Margate and the upper floors of Albion
House in Ramsgate
- Rationalisation and improved use of civic accommodation in
Margate and Ramsgate – retaining its use by Charter Trustees (or
their successor bodies), but sharing the use of these ‘civic
spaces’ and ensuring that they are well used
- Taking council and cabinet meetings and other forums out into
the community
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Sharing space saves money and improves services to our
customers
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TSR13 Better Asset Management
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Albion House, Ramsgate
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(Saving £70,000)
In line with the approaches proposed by the Department of
Communities and Local Government, the Council we will be pursuing
better use of the Council’s assets. The Council will be
looking to achieve additional rental income for 2008/09 and future
years from commercial lettings. We will be seeking to identify some
assets for disposal in order to fund much needed improvements in
other services – particularly the quality of swimming and sports
facilities. Where assets remain in civic and community use,
we will seek to maximise their value by shared use, better
marketing and income generation.
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TSR14 Green Garden Waste Collections
(Raising £268,900)
Many Thanet residents love their gardens,
but they produce a great amount of recyclable green waste.
Many councils now charge for their service to collect green garden
waste. We propose to also introduce a small annual charge for
this service in Thanet from summer 2008. This will require
considerable capital investment and set up costs by the Council –
but we believe this will lead to a valuable, cost effective and
environmentally friendly service used by an increasing number of
households in the years to come.
Residents who wish to use this service will be
asked to purchase a green garden waste bin for £15. After the
first year, there will be a cost of £26 to keep using the bin,
which will buy an annual green bin licence. This fee is
considerably less than the cost of a tank of petrol.
TSR15 Car Park charges
(Raising £201,000)
Car parking charges
continue to be an important source of income in Thanet, as in most
coastal areas. The cost of parking in the area is still
relatively low, compared with many of our neighbours. A
package of changes to parking income is proposed which will see
typical increases as follows:-
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2007/08
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2008/09
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- up to one hour
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£0.30
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£0.50
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out of town
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£0.60
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£0.80
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in town
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- up to two hours
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£0.60
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£0.80
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out of town
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£1.00
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£1.30
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in town
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- up to four hours
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£1.20
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£1.50
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out of town
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£1.60
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£1.90
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in town
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This represents a 16% increase overall but,
subject to levels of grant in 2009/10 and 2010/11, the Council is
hopeful that it will not need to increase fees further in these two
later years. In addition, we will seek to agree additional and
regulated areas of on-street parking.
This will help improve on-street parking space in busy areas,
help residents and ensure that visitors make a reasonable
contribution during their time/stay in Thanet.
TSR16 Public Toilet charges
(Raising £24,000)
Thanet has a significantly higher number of toilets than our
neighbours. Public toilets are costly to operate and prone to
vandalism and we want Thanet to have good, clean toilets which
reflect well on the Council and the area. To achieve this, we
intend to:
- Continue to invest £30k pa in toilet upgrades
and refurbishment
- Charge 20p for use of some toilets in the
summer in our high-footfall areas. This will pay for an
attendant – which will improve service to customers and reduce the
potential for vandalism
- Seek to incorporate daily repairs and
maintenance works within the overall contract price
- Close two or three toilets, which are
prone to vandalism or are within close proximity to other
services
- Explore options for more local management by
Town or Parish Councils
TSR17 Moorings within the Royal Harbour
(Raising £139,000)
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The Royal Harbour in Ramsgate is home to
around 600 active yachts. Around 43% of yacht owners are not
Thanet residents. We propose to increase the cost of yacht
moorings by around 5.1%. This would typically increase the
cost of mooring a 32ft yacht from £2,470 to £2,590 pa.
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Ramsgate, Royal Harbour Marina
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TSR18 Museums and grant to the East Kent Maritime Trust
(Saving £100,000)
The Council currently grant aids the East Kent Maritime Trust, who
provide museum services and supervise collections at Margate and
Ramsgate. Sadly the council grant of around £100,000 a year
supports services that are used by only around 10,000 visitors each
year – equating to a subsidy of around £10 per visitor. This
is not sustainable in the current financial climate and the Cabinet
believes that
this grant must cease in 2008/09. The Council will discuss
with the Trust the best way forward to achieving the following
objectives:-
- A thorough review of the current museum
exhibits, with the aim of establishing a series of high-quality
themed exhibitions which can be displayed at various venues across
the district and, possibly, county.
- The presentation of a core, static museum
display on the ground floor of Albion House, Ramsgate – in rooms
not required for civic accommodation
- The release of accommodation currently
occupied at both Ramsgate and Margate for potential alternative
commercial or community
As part of this change programme, the Council is willing to fund
a post for two years to support the reconfiguration of the Museum
collections.
Next: Our response to the challenge of
tough choices