NOTE – This consultation has now closed (01.12.17)
We are currently consulting on proposals to cut £13 million from our budget over the next two years and we want as many as people to have their say on the cuts proposed.
We have to make these cuts as we continue to see reduced funding from central government. Since 2008 we have seen £52 million taken from our budgets and there is no sign that these “austerity” measures will stop.
TELL US HOW YOU THINK WE SHOULD SAVE £13M. FILL-IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE NOW.
In this article we are going to take a look at what the proposed cuts for our Environment and Planning Department which covers a wide range of services including recycling, refuse collection, waste disposal, highway repairs and maintenance, public and school transport, maintenance of public areas, crematorium and cemeteries, public rights of way, street lighting, food safety, licensing conservation and listed buildings to mention just a few.
This department has put forward over £340,000 of cuts for 2018/19 and we have outlined below what these are:
Charge for the collection of additional green waste bins
Some households have more than one green bin and we are proposing to charge for emptying each extra green bin/s at a cost of £30 per year per bin. All households will continue to have one green bin emptied for free.
Review Blue Badge parking
At the moment Blue Badge holders can park for free in any of the Council’s car parks. It is proposed to introduce charging in Council car parks for those who hold a Blue Badge.
Introduce car parks in various parks and locations
It is proposed to charge visitors to Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr, Nant Mill and Trevor Basin £1.00 to park.
Charge members and staff to park
At the moment some staff and elected members who use the town centre car parks can park for free. It is proposed to take away this entitlement and encourage more use of public transport. It will also generate additional income as some will choose to pay for parking in council owned car parks.
Review the country parks
The Council manages 11 country parks. This proposal would see a reduction in the number of park rangers and realign the service to focus on the safe management of the key parks sites of Alyn Waters and Ty Mawr. there would also be a review of our seasonal park facilities. To make sure the parks remained clean the Streetscene Service would help the rangers. The reduction in staff will mean some services including events and school work will be reduced and there will be a new service model developed.
Increase annual fee for discretionary bus passes
At the moment students who are not entitled to free school transport can use a concessionary bus pass where there is spare seating on a school bus. It is proposed to increase this from £50.00 per term to £100.00 per term.
Increase crematorium charges
The council has invested and improved the facilities at Pentre Bycan Crematorium over the last few years but the cost of cremations has only risen to cover inflation. It is proposed the increase Cremation fees by £50 for single cremations and £100 for joint/double cremations.
Increase allotment fees
It is proposed to increase allotment fees for all tenants by 25%. This would take the cost of a quarter plot to £39 a half plot to £72, and a full plot £122.
Waste and recycling collection review.
We’ve kept our waste and recycling collection services under review for the past two years and we have increased our recycling rates. We have new recycling vehicles, improved kerbside collection and rolled out both weekly food collections and new kerbside trolleys. The Council now wants to review the collection frequency of residual (black bin) waste with a view to further improving recycling rates and achieving service efficiencies.
“We really appreciate your views”
If you “agree” or “disagree” with some or all of these proposals we want you to let us know about it by taking part in the Difficult Decisions Consultation. We really appreciate your views and if you don’t want to take part in the whole consultation just click “don’t know” until you get to the section you wish to fill in.
Your views are important to us so please don’t leave it to someone else to have all the say. Make sure you have yours.
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Fill-in our questionnaire now, and make sure you have your say on proposed budget-savings.
