LIBERAL Democrats tonight (Tues, Jan 7) publish a YouTube video showing why Bristol Mayor George Ferguson can afford to rein back his plans for £90 million spending cuts.
The party is pressing the Mayor to ditch plans for up to £5 million in cuts – including shutting almost all the city’s public loos – and to freeze council tax for the next three years.
Group leader Councillor Tim Kent (Whitchurch Park) explains the party’s case in a short video film, launched on YouTube today.
Councillor Kent and the Lib Dems are calling on Mr Ferguson to drop plans for cuts to a whole raft of frontline services, including libraries, local bus routes, community grants, older people’s wardens, Hengrove Play Park and tree planting.
In talks with Mr Ferguson Councillor Kent has also repeated his call for Bristol to accept the government’s grant to freeze the council tax. He says this would save families an average of £125 and pump an extra £10m of government grant into the city economy.
Councillor Kent has shown the Mayor how this measure, together with reversing up to £5m of cuts and dropping a plan to make even the poorest pay council tax can all be afforded.
He said: “Three important sources of income for the council have been seriously under-estimated in the budget plans – business rates, the government New Homes Bonus and the growth in the council tax base brought about by new housebuilding.
“With these items of extra income taken into account, the Mayor can more than afford to reverse the cuts as we have asked him to do – and freeze council tax and fund tax discounts for the poorest families.
“In fact, there will be money available to allow Mr Ferguson to take on board other proposals, put forward by the other parties on the council, as well, building genuine consensus.”
