Liberal Democrat councillors say plans to spend £9.2million on a ‘Digital Media Hub’ at York’s Guildhall should be reconsidered.

The proposals were rubber-stamped by the Labour Cabinet last night despite concerns raised at the meeting by Lib Dem Cllr Ian Cuthbertson. Under the plans, City of York Council will spend an initial £500,000 on the project. The overall scheme is due to cost £9.2million with cash coming from council capital funds, borrowing and the council’s ‘Economic Infrastructure Fund’. £1.7million in funding is yet to be found.

The Lib Dems say there is not enough evidence on income to justify the spending and have ‘called-in’ the decision for review. The proposal will now be reconsidered at a cross-party scrutiny meeting in January.

Cllr Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Finance and Performance, commented:

“It is astonishing that the Labour Cabinet has brought forward these proposals without a proper business case which shows how the council hopes to get a return on its investment to justify the spending. There is also currently a £1.7million black hole in Labour’s plans.

“If this plan proceeds, York taxpayers will be asked to underwrite £9million of risk on the project. As well as a huge upfront capital cost the plans would greatly increase the council’s long-term borrowing commitments, a burden which has already increased under Labour.

“The report passed presents no evidence that other options for the Guildhall have been properly considered, that this is the right location for the use being proposed or that the private sector will take on any of the risk of this project.

“At a time when Labour are cutting frontline services for ordinary residents and considering moving to monthly rubbish collections, we cannot support this sort of speculative spending on vanity projects in the city-centre.”
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The election of a new Leader doesn’t seem to have brought much realism to the York Council Labour Group.

True new Leader Williams is sacking 2 members of the Cabinet – which will operate with 6 members in future – in a gesture towards financial prudence. At the same time he is trying to “bounce” residents and opposition Councillors into accepting a £9.2 million scheme aimed at providing new offices, a riverside walkway and a restaurant on a site adjacent to the Guildhall site.

Williams slipped out the announcement to the local newspaper 24 hours before the agenda documents for a hastily convened special Cabinet meeting (scheduled to take place on 16^th December) are due to be published.

It means that residents can’t even view the business case for the project at the moment.

…and there will be minimal time for consultation before the Cabinet signs off £500,000 in expenditure on design work for what it describes as a “digital media centre”.

We’ll reserve comment on the project until the full business case has been published, but if it is as lacking in detail as similar proposals – to invest £8 million in replacing the Waterworld swimming pool and £10 million on a bridge into the York central site – then we will know that the new Council is as financially imprudent, as the Alexander regime was reckless.

York Taxpayers – and their children – could be paying over £2 million a year just servicing the debts on these “vanity” projects.

£30,000 to do a job part time?

Meanwhile the new Labour Leader is likely to be asked to make clear his intentions about how much time he could be expected to spend on York Council work if he were to become the its Leader on Thursday.

A full time £30,000 a year salary has been attached to the post since local government reorganisation in 1997.

The expectation is that the Council Leader will be putting in around 50 hours of work each week,

Some of the holders of the post have worked longer hours. ……but Cllr Williams has, so far, declined to confirm that he will be giving up his (day) job with Yorkshire Water.

Failure to do so would be to short change York Council taxpayers (or Yorkshire Water customers).

So he needs to make his intentions clear before Councillors are ask to endorse his nomination.