Cornwall Council jobs will have to be lost, library hours cut and its presence at the Royal Cornwall Show axed, to meet additional multi-million budget savings caused by the controversial decision to freeze tax next year.
Amid chaotic scenes, angry outbursts and warnings on frontline services, councillors last month voted to freeze council tax for a third year in a row. That heaped further demands for savings of £4.67 million on the council next year – on top of the £30 million which had already been planned for.
The consequences of that decision have now been spelled out in papers to the council's cabinet which is holding an extraordinary meeting on Monday.
"While in some areas some of the savings will come from reducing agency staff, in other areas permanent posts will be lost," a cabinet report said.
"Senior managers will endeavour to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies but it is important to recognise that the loss of these posts in the context of the total staffing reductions over the last four years will have a significant impact on the overall resilience and capability of council services."
The children, schools and families department needs to find a further £906,000 in savings which "will be delivered by reviewing and reducing agency staff, extending recruitment times for vacancies and potentially making emergency savings through cuts to front line services".
Of the £358,000 needed to be found in "shared services", some £167,000 "will be delivered by reducing the operating and opening times of libraries and one stop shops and reducing the opening hours of the contact centre as quickly as possible".
Four jobs would be lost in the legal, democratic and procurement office and the same number from the people and organisational development service.
The biggest blows will be dealt to the finance and strategy, localism and communications services, which will have to axe 12 and 14 posts respectively. The latter will also have to halt "some specific activities, including the council presence at the Royal Cornwall Show".
In adult care and support, which needs to find an added £840,000, "agency posts will be replaced by recruiting staff onto council contracts at lower rates". But the report warned: "Some posts will not be replaced and this may lead to short notice temporary closure of services such as day centres which rely on the flexibility of agency staff to cover sickness".
The council tax freeze decision, proposed by the Liberal Democrats and backed by many Conservatives, has resulted in major political fallout at County Hall. There are now just two Conservatives in the cabinet, after Lance Kennedy, Carolyn Rule and Armand Toms left for the Independent benches. Tory Stephen Rushworth was sacked.
Lib-Dem deputy leader Alex Folkes, who proposed the zero tax, said: "They are talking up the threat of service cuts rather than cutting back on waste. The full council backed a Lib-Dem amendment which will see a council tax freeze – saving every household between £20 and £70 this year.
"In addition, there will be £2.5 million invested to repair the roads over the next two years, cuts to parking charges, action to tackle anti-social behaviour and a spring-clean for Cornwall. No wonder the cabinet didn't like it – they wanted to see a tax rise and no investment in services."
