Update: we got this one a bit wrong- so we are amending what’s below and will do a separate update on this….
There’s a mixture of good and bad news in the latest financial report to the District Council. You can download it here. (732kb)
The good news is that:
Income from planning application fees is forecast to be ?113,000 above original budget with additional income expected following the Government?s announcement of a 15% increase in planning fees from the Autumn ; this is the first increase since 2008.
Spending on housing people in bed and breakfast accommodation is forecast to be below original budget by about ?80,000.
We’ve got an extra bonus of ?216,000 for recycling. But this is a bonus payment that we won’t get in future years.
Savings of around ?50,000 will be made on the IT contract, this is because inflation is lower than budgeted for.
The bad news is that:
Despite now charging for parking at the Freight House, income from pay and display machines is forecast to be ?117,000 below original target.
Income from car park season tickets is also expected to be below original budget by ?80,000.
Income from Building Control charges is forecast to be ?85,000 below original budget.
Income from Land Charges is forecast to be ?40,000 below original budget.
So for this year the council’s finances look okay, thanks partly to residents’ good work on recycling…..
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Any bets on where the New Homes Bonus will go? It will be a shame if those areas that suffer development do not get some real local improvement in compensation for the loss of green belt.
It would be nice to see some fairness on the share-out, but this seems to be something that the district council is playing down.
Hi Again’
You said in January 2012
“One boost for councils will be from the “New Homes Bonus” (apge 3.10). This is a bonus councils get for new homes in their area and bringing empty homes back into use. Rochford District got a bonus of £116,807 in 2011/12 and expects to get about £149,300 for this year. But expect some serious debate over how this money is spent – and where.”
I agree let’s not just see it fill in for lost income elsewhere and just get absorbed into the pot when perhaps we should be trimming the services which are not generating income anymore rather than subsidising them effectively from the New Homes Bonus which should be used in those areas which host development on which the bonus is generated.