She added: "Audit Scotland has commented that our level of
earmarked reserves is low, I am suggesting that we remedy that."
"Our concern was that the balance of other
earmarked reserves was less than that initial budget gap for 2020/21," he said.
The council is forecasting a net revenue deficit of PS0.1m for 2018-19, but only after the use of PS3.5m of
earmarked reserves, which is PS1.6m higher than budgeted at the start of the financial year.
Yet, the council has "general" and "controllable
earmarked reserves" of PS16m and PS35m, respectively.
But while the authority's finance officer confirmed their proposals would be acceptable, he raised concern over taking out PS1m from
earmarked reserves and another PS565,000 out of the authority's general balances.
"These are being managed via a combination of one off actions - use of
earmarked reserves, use of one-off grant, Every Penny Counts exercise - and ongoing actions (review of existing budgets and realignments where feasible).
Before the meeting, Cllr Loveday warned the council could not afford to continue raiding
earmarked reserves to top up its Dedicated Schools Grant deficit.
Officers say the proposed changes will result in a budget shortfall that will be addressed through
earmarked reserves in 2018-19 but point out a longer-term solution will need to be developed.
It's time to set in train mergers that will save significant amounts of money." Newcastle City Council will use PS5.6m from its
earmarked reserves this year to pay for highways, adult social care, services for children with disabilities and staffing.
The council has budgeted to use a total of PS2.3m worth of reserves in 2019-20 with PS500,000 from its
earmarked reserves and PS1.3m from its budget reserve.
The impact of the deficit has been mostly offset by a review of
earmarked reserves and net income.
