A report being considered next week suggests that the York Council could over spend its budget this year by £1.3 million.
Coppergate – York Council failure, to win appeal against unlawful fines issue, could plunge it into a financial crisis
The – much delayed – half year report does not include any deficit which may arise from outstanding issues on the Coppergate/Lendal bridge fine refund policy.
Other areas of concern identified in the report include
- Waste There is a forecast overspend of £98k due to lower than budgeted income from commercial waste, £100k shortfall in income from garden waste subscription, £100k due to the forecast shortfall in dividend from Yorwaste and £233k pressure at Household Waste and Recycling Centres primarily due to lower than expected income from charges
- Car Parking There is a continued shortfall from parking income (£408k) and “ongoing monitoring will be required to assess the impact of the current parking initiatives, including the charges for Minster Badges, the free parking introduced in late June and pay-on-exit at Marygate”.
- Social Care There is a significant projected overspend of £864k within the Elderly Persons Homes budgets.
A separate report identifies problems with the Councils capital investment programme.
Failure to move ahead with the reuse of the Guildhall means that £350,000 of “critical” repairs will now be needed.
And a major problem is arising with the Councils existing Elderly Persons Homes. These were supposed to have closed by now having been replaced by the new care village at Lowfields. But that project is 3 years behind schedule and the existing buildings will need to be patched up at a cost of £500,000!