Moray Council has £7.6 million surplus
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MORAY Council has ended the 2010-2011 financial year with a surplus of £7.6 million, it has been revealed.
Chief financial officer Mark Palmer told the local authority’s Policy & Resources Committee today that the final figure far exceeded the £4 million underspend predicted at the end of the third quarter.
The savings were a direct result of significant cost-cutting measures throughout all departments.
In difficult economic times, committee chairman Allan Wright described the savings as a "remarkable result".
"It puts us in a much improved position for future financial planning, and it is a result of everyone pulling together," he said.
Depending on what financial contributions are made by the Scottish Executive next year, the Conservative councillor for Heldon and Laich said the additional savings may allow the council to apply a "lighter touch" when it sets budgets for 2012-2013.
For this year, Councillor Wright proposed that £100,000 now be handed to each of Moray’s eight wards, to be spent on additional local initiatives for which funding was not previously allocated.
However, at the request of Speyside Glenlivet Councillor Pearl Paul (SNP), this decision was deferred for one month.
Councillor Paul, joined by a number of her SNP colleagues, said she would first prefer to first see a review of the planned cuts for this year, some of which she described as "draconian".
"I need more assurances that the council is looking at the schemes that are already causing problems," she said.
"Maybe we could look into some of these issues, because I feel the impact in some of these areas is quite substantial."
For the full story see Friday’s edition of ‘The Scot’.
