2nd March, 2023
Colchester City Council is facing a battle to balance its books, according to the Financial Monitoring Report ahead of the Governance and Audit Committee Meeting ahead of the meeting on 7th March.
The report reveals that the General Fund is showing a net overspend against services of £689k. There is a current forecast outturn position for the General Fund of a net overspend of £434k. The Housing Revenue Account is also showing a net overspend of £82k.
Income to the council has fallen below targets in several areas, most notably in Planning and Neighbourhood services. There are overspends against budgets in various service areas, primarily within employees and supplies and services costs.
One of the most significant issues is the £740k overspend on staff costs, mainly due to agency staff in Waste. The Market & Street Trading income is down by £109k, while Sport & Leisure is overspending by £492k due to higher inflation.
There is some good news as Housing is underspending by a net £685k, reflecting the removal of the £521k New Homes Bonus affordable housing allocation and the additional use of £150k of Government grant in the year.
The council’s Assistant Directors and their budget holders have undertaken a thorough review of the financial position for their services.
It remains to be seen how the council will address the budget shortfall. With tough decisions to be made, the council will need to tighten the purse strings to balance its books. Residents – and staff – are likely to feel the pinch.
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