Opposition groups in Dundee City Council are challenging a range of cuts proposed by the SNP majority.
The Labour group says it would find £800,000 more for foodbanks, plus £300,000 to maintain the popular Big Noise Douglas music tuition programme.
The Liberal Democrats say their proposed council tax hike will be “less than the SNP administration’s” and also want to save Big Noise.
They want to hire almost 40 street cleaners, claiming: “We’ll clean up our city.”
Like all local authorities across Scotland, council leader, John Alexander, and his team have had to make stark choices with a lower than expected budget.
Since December, he has lobbied for more funds with other leaders from his own party’s government in Edinburgh.
‘Appalled at budget’
Pete Shears, Labour councillor for Broughty Ferry said: “The Dundee Labour Group are appalled at the budget presented by the administration.
“Massive tax rises, huge cuts to community funding including the vitally important and beloved Big Noise Douglas. A cut to 3rd sector funding such as WRASAC, passes the brunt of SNP decision-making in Dundee and Holyrood onto the people of Dundee.”
The Labour group also put forward a council tax rise of 3%, compared to the 4.75% hike proposed by the SNP.
They say £579,000 can be spent on cleaning up the city’s streets and bus shelters.
‘Scandals never repeated’
Mr Shears continued: “We will secure quality assurance accreditation to ensure the Olympia and roofing scandals will never be repeated. We also retain our commitment to the 3rd sector who deliver vital services to the city’s most vulnerable.
We’ve proposed a £1.1m one off payment to Leisure & Culture Dundee that will protect the city’s heritage sites and libraries from impending closure.
‘Clean up our city’
Talks with council officers are continuing on the Liberal Democrat budget proposals. Group leader Fraser Macpherson, councillor for the West End, is confident their council tax rise figure “will be less than the SNP administration’s”.
Central in their proposals is a clean-up drive of Dundee’s streets.
Mr Macpherson said: “We continue to get many complaints from constituents about street cleaning in the city which is simply not as good as it used to be.
“Not only has the SNP cut 39 posts, there’s an additional 16 vacancies that have not been filled.
“So with just 60 street cleaners in post at the moment, staffing levels currently in post are little more than half the staff that were in place in 2015.”
To pay for this, the Liberal Democrats say they have identified a “large range of small savings right across the council”.
They also want to spend £2 million on road and footpath resurfacing.
Why are councils cutting spending?
The Scottish Government said the cash given to councils in December was an increase of £498 million.
But COSLA, the umbrella body for Scotland’s councils, said after current polices were paid for, the real increase was £71 million among 32 local authorities.
With its share of this thin layer of funding to spread, the administration is proposing a 4.75% rise in council tax, approaching the 5% maximum hike taken by most councils across England.
It also wants to stop subsidies for five city bus routes.
All proposals will be put forward Thursday at a special session of the policy and resources committee held online from 3pm.
The minority parties will have to persuade members of the 15-strong SNP majority.
Labour have nine seats, the Liberal Democrats, four; Scottish Conservatives, one.
‘Save bus services’
Broughty Ferry councillor Craig Duncan added: “We are also proposing to save local supported bus services including the 206 service in my own Broughty Ferry area that are proposed for the axe by the SNP. We want to save this service as well as others in the West End/Lochee, Kirkton/Lawside/The Glens and Mill O’Mains/Mid Craigie and cuts to Service 10.
Around £1 million would be spent on “shopfront upgrades” and other works on the Murraygate and Reform Street to ” complement the existing scheme recently agreed for Union Street.”
Derek Scott, Scottish Conservative councillor for Broughty Ferry said: “I am particularly concerned about the proposal to discontinue the subsidised registered bus services from 2024, which will leave many communities across the city, including areas in my own Broughty Ferry ward, without a bus service.”
