Mallon's folly

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Middlesbrough mayor's warning over service cuts
by Sandy McKenzie, Evening Gazette
Jul 9 2011

LIBRARIES and leisure centres could be closed as Middlesbrough Council battles to find millions of pounds of savings.
And 400 to 500 jobs are expected to be lost, according to the borough’s mayor.
Ray Mallon has given a stark warning that the authority still faces some of the most difficult years in its history. He has also given a clear indication that the council will borrow cash to tackle major housing issues such as the housing market renewal project in Gresham. A detailed housing statement will follow shortly.
The authority faces having to find £13.9m of savings for next year and then a further £12.2m and £11.7m of cuts in the following two years.

Excluding spending on schools and benefits, the council currently spends £216m a year on services.

Mr Mallon noted at a council meeting this week that this represented a cut of 17.5%.
And he warned: “This simply cannot be achieved without cuts in the services the council currently provides.”
The mayor is arranging meetings with councillors to get their views.

“Leisure centres are under threat, as are facilities such as community centres, libraries, the street warden service - in fact almost everything except services for vulnerable people and safeguarding children,” he told the meeting.
“Services will be reduced and increased charges have to be looked at - including car parking fees - though we have to consider the economic vitality of the town,”
Mr Mallon said stark choices would have to be faced and now wants councillors to tell him “what they considered to be sacred”.
He also expressed fears that, if oil prices continued to rise, it could fuel inflation.
“The authority has budgeted for an inflation rate of 3.2%.
Every 1% above that figure it costs the council an additional £1.2m a year.
Despite the warning, Mr Mallon said the proposed enterprise zone would help Middlesbrough, while there also remained a lot of interest in the town from different businesses.

Mike Carr, executive councillor for children, families and learning said the situation was the result of selfish, greedy action by speculators in the global market.
He added it was important the council sought to protect community services such as libraries and refuse collections, specialist services such as those for adults in need of social care and vulnerable children, and town-wide services which protected and created employment such as regeneration work.
Councillor Chris Hobson, Conservative Group leader, said Labour had been in power for 13 years and kept putting the credit card up and up.

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