A Council Tax increase of nearly 5% and parking charges at Loch Lomond tourist hotspot Duck Bay could be brought in as Argyll and Bute Council faces a budget gap of £7.9m.
The authority will set its budget later this month, and today released a statement saying in effect it had suffered a 1.6% reduction in funding for core services from the Scottish Government.
On Thursday the policy and resources committee will consider financial documents totalling over 600 pages, which propose a raft of savings, as well as propose inflationary increases of 3% for fees and charges.
But a 4.7% increase in Council Tax is suggested, the equivalent £1,308.33 for a Band D home.
Last year’s budget led to a hugely controversial 800% increase in parking charges at Arrochar, and Duck Bay could be next in line as the council tries to raise cash, although opposition is expected.
A report states: “Initial consultation has been carried out at Duck Bay. It is anticipated that there may be some objections received to the Duck Bay proposal that may impact on implementation affecting savings in future years.”
A council spokesperson said today that if parking charges, if they were ever introduced at Duck Bay, would match the rates in place across Argyll and Bute for off-street parking.
The authority says that over the last nine years it has had to make savings of £51m.
Council leader Aileen Morton said: “It’s no longer enough to say that these are difficult times for councils. Years of savings are peeling away the support that councils can give their communities. More and more, councils must focus on delivering their statutory duties.
“Argyll and Bute, however, needs more than core services from its council. It needs support to build its economy and a successful future; local communities need local government services to support their family, business and community lives.
“Setting a responsible budget this year is about making decisions that support people as much as we can now, while also looking after the future of Argyll and Bute.”
Gary Mulvaney, depute leader and policy lead for strategic finance, added: “The harsh fact is that funding for our core services is being cut again with our like-for-like Scottish Government grant down £3.1m, leaving an unpalatable combination of service cuts and council tax rises to plug that gap.
“Decisions we made in previous years mean we have already put in place £2.4m savings for 2019/20. However, more cuts to our core funding mean more tough choices about the work of the council.
“Our priority is to deliver as much value as possible from the reduced funding we have.”
Argyll & Bute is to be closed for Tourism. Who will come to be ripped off?
Climb the Cobbler for nearly £10 parking, visit Duck Bay and cough up. Surely it’s an oversight that Luss is not on the target list; they have a parking problem. Nobody wants to pay the iniquitous charges in the car park and abandon their cars along the narrow residential streets.
You get to park free, in the meantime, near the end of Helensburgh pier if you are happy for the car to get a sea water wash. Maybe charges will be introduced as part of the Kinneburgh/Morton plan where the pool will take the brunt of the waves and tourist buses, if they come, will be sent a mile or so from the town centre to Craigendoran to park.