Budget cuts could lead to a “significant” reduction in spending on winter upkeep of Perth and Kinross roads and footpaths, despite a warning it will lead to an increase in accidents and casualties.
Council officers have proposed slashing the winter maintenance budget by £610,000 over the next three years with rural routes and towns likely to be the worst affected.
Waste recycling centres are also facing the axe and garden waste permits are set to rise if the recommendations are approved later this week.
The council’s revenue budget proposal outlines plans to remove all out of hours treatment to the footpath network outside of Perth city centre.
The move would mean routes that are currently gritted by 7.30am would not be dealt with prior to early morning travel for school or work.
Under the proposal, footpaths would only be treated during working hours Monday to Friday.
According to the council’s own report, the £55,000 cut would result in a “potential increase in accident casualty rate before 8am” and a rise in complaints.
Council officers believe they will make savings as fewer staff will be required to drive footway gritters and have suggested recruiting “self help” volunteers in the community to offset the loss of service.
In addition to the cuts to hours of service, officers have also suggested reducing the footway network by 60% and focusing their attention on paths around schools, in Perth city centre and larger town centres.
The £185,000 cut would see a “significant reduction in the coverage and frequency of winter maintenance treatment of the council footways”, according to the budget report.
Again the council has suggested the loss in service could be supported through “community resilience”.
However, its report acknowledges that success would be dependent upon the willingness of local communities to take on increased responsibility winter maintenance.
Officers have also proposed slashing the local authority’s road network coverage by 20%, potentially saving £370,000, despite stating it will cause a “likely increased accident casualty rate”.
The reduction in service would make Perth and Kinross Council the sixth lowest performing local authority in the country.
Many routes would no longer receive any treatment. The cut would also impact on job numbers at Tayside Contracts.
Recycling centres are also under threat in the budget proposal which will go before councillors on Friday.
Centres in Auchterarder, Aberfeldy and Bankfoot could be replaced with recycling points in a £110,000 cut.
The garden waste permit charge is also set to rise by £5 to £40 in 2021/22 in a move that could bring in an extra £180,000 to the council’s coffers.
Education
Pupils across Perth and Kinross could be hugely affected by cuts proposed by council officers.
Swimming and music lessons are under threat as are lollipop patrollers, secondary school teachers and parent councils.
Charges for instrumental music tuition would jump from £295 to £776 per pupil per annum as the council seek to claw in £500,000 and charge pupils full price for the service.
The move is likely to see potential reduction in music take up and achievement and could lead to reduction in staffing levels.
Swimming lessons for primary school pupils could also be cut to save £60,000 despite fears that it will negatively affect children from families with lower income.
Staff numbers at Live Active Leisure may also be affected.
Council officers also hope to save £179,000 by removing all school crossing patrollers from across Perth and Kinross despite a backlash against the proposal last year.
Teacher numbers in secondary schools could also be reduced in a £624,000 cut despite concerns that it would impact negatively on the pupil attainment and would result in larger classes and less personal support for students.
A 50% reduction in the annual grant to support parent council’s has also been proposed for a saving of £20,000.
