Cllr Joanna Mowat tells Edinburgh Evening News, "I smell a rat in this budget"

The final budget before the Council Elections was set last Thursday as the LibDem / SNP shooglie-peg alliance delivered a populist agenda of pre-election giveaways.

In today's Edinburgh Evening News, Cllr Joanna Mowat, tells how she 'smells a rat in this budget':

The Lib Dem/SNP coalition has spent four years decrying their inheritance from Labour, castigating Labour for their fiscal irresponsibility, then produce a budget of sweeties and giveaways. When you look at the budget you can see exactly whose leaflets each giveaway will appear in. The coalition has had us make hard choices over the last four years and three months before an election can produce a big give-away budget – frankly I smell a rat.

Whilst it is pleasant to be able to give money away, the question has to be asked – is this a wise use of resources?

The Conservative group would say no it is not. Audit Scotland recommends councils to hold two-four per cent of their revenue budget in reserves – taking the £5.9 million out proposed by the coalition leaves a reserve of 1.2 per cent rather than 1.7 per cent. We proposed to keep the reserves at the higher figure. The reason for this is that while there is a small surplus this year there is a budget shortfall predicted for 2013/14 and 2014/15. There is also a lot of risk facing the council. To name two of the biggest ones – an overspend on the tram budget and costs associated with the statutory repairs disaster which are unquantified at present.

The Conservatives would have invested the surplus in making the council more efficient and ensuring that services are designed to serve the user, not the provider. We would also have invested in the city’s infrastructure, prioritising pothole repairs, reducing the school maintenance backlog and providing more bustrackers and cycling and pedestrian improvements.