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Budgets for libraries have been cut in Wokingham Borough Council's 2013 budget
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Libraries and road maintenances budgets slashed in council cuts

February 26, 2013

Libraries and road maintenance are among the departments trimmed in savings for the latest budget.

This week’s proposal sets out 90 areas in which savings must be made.

More than £230,000 will be cut from spending on libraries over the next three years, but executive member for internal services Councillor Pauline Jorgensen doesn’t expect customers will notice any change to the service.

She said: “There are a few process improvements we are taking in terms of centralising the storage of books and generally a lot of tweaking around the edges to provide more efficiencies.

Children's centres and youth service cut by £1.7 million in budget

“It shouldn’t be hugely affecting customers at all.”

Highways maintenance, including work to fill in potholes, re-drawing lines and changing road surfaces, will be cut by £390,000 over the next three years.

Council budget offers little to those living outside Wokingham, says Lib Dem leader

Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for highways and planning, said: “We have a pot of money set aside for reactive maintenance. Last year it was around £1.7 million, £130,000 a year in that context is not large.”

The executive member explained it is possible to move funds from other highways budgets should the pot run out and added that such a measure has never been required in the past.

More funding pressure on council budget after Government cuts

Overall, £16 million will be invested in the borough’s roads between now and 2016.

Cllr Baker added: “The problem in the highways area is we could easily consume the whole budget doing what residents would like us to do.”

He pledged not to increase town centre car parking charges this year.

In other savings, the council hopes to raise more than £330,000 over two years in revenues and benefits recovered by an investigations officer due to be hired this year.

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Most recent user comments 9 of 9

The money they made off there green waste bins would almost be enough to cover this. Maybe they should start cutting the bonus and payouts for all the council officers...... I bet that never happens. So cut money in areas that should be the most funded

YoYo-Sindlesham, Sindlesham
04/03/2013 at 11:15

Beef Cake Argh- that is exactly what i intend to do and others should do the same.

right said fred
27/02/2013 at 18:08

RSF - You can claim for dammage caused by potholes. http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim

Beef Cake Argh!
27/02/2013 at 06:57

does this mean that the urgent road repairs needed in wellington road and oxford road will not happen or would the council prefer to pay the repair bill formy car?

right said fred
26/02/2013 at 22:02

Aha! Why not close the libraries and use the books to fill in the potholes?

Do I win £6K?

Beef Cake Argh!
26/02/2013 at 18:39

Oh good, because the roads in Wokingham are so well maintained as it is.

Bobo, Wokingham
26/02/2013 at 15:05

Agree with Damiano_Tommassi in questioning why these things have never been done before. I also agree that taking almost 8% out of the road budget is quite significant and Cllr Baker is wrong to say it is only £130k.

My understanding is that since the cuts have hit the public sector back in 2008 they have all been reviewing budgets and processes. If they are still finding significant cuts, they obviously didn't do a very good review! It also makes you wonder how much inefficiency remains within the council and whether they just have a list of things which they can roll out each year for a few years, rather than making all the savings now?

I am fully in support of the public sector and the work the councils do, but can't people see when money is being thrown down the drain year after year?

Smiffy, Reading
26/02/2013 at 12:24

Okay, three things:

- if cutting the library budget by £230k (over three years) will have no meaningful effect, because they could be run more efficiently, then WHY DIDN'T YOU MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT BEFOREHAND, you're clearly not doing your job very well if you're wasting £76k/year

- £130,000 from a budget of 1.7m is 7.6%. Any way you want to look at it, the reduction is quite large. Ordinarily, locatl and national government go to great lengths to show just how much money they've 'saved', and here the opposite is happening - 'it's only £130k...'. At a time when the roads are worse than I've known them in years, too...

- if an investigations officer could potentially recover £165k/year, again, why was this never considered in the past? I know from my time there of many situations where the council was owed money, or could recover money, but seemed to never bother. It's good that they are finally making some effort, but why does it take this long? The council has existed for such a long time, as have many of the current councillors.