By Brian Allison, local government reporter

AFTER DAYS of frenzied activity to find more savings, Dundee last night managed to set a council tax which is not the highest in Scotland—just the second highest.

At meetings postponed from Thursday the council backed a Band D figure of £1211, just £2 less than Glasgow’s council tax.

The increase works out at 2.63%, or £31 more than the current Band D tax of £1180.

Proposals were put before councillors, for Band D figures of £1211, £1212 and £1213.

The Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition administration, backed by the Tories, proposed £1211; the SNP group’s budget would have given a figure of £1212 and Independent councillor Ian Borthwick’s motion would have tied with Glasgow on £1213.

The council tax should have been set on Thursday but, when Glasgow declared no increase, it became clear Dundee was about to end up with the highest figure in Scotland if proposals tabled went through.

It was decided to postpone the meetings until yesterday while officials tried to find a way of getting below Glasgow’s figure.

Last night the council received a report from depute chief executive (finance) David Dorward detailing an extra £1.1 million of savings.

The major item involved transferring most of the sheltered housing warden service from social work to housing management, which does not impact on council tax.

Mr Dorward said that would generate estimated savings of £840,000. He said all permanent staff would transfer and preliminary negotiations had started with the trade unions.

The other £260,000 of savings arose from the fact borrowing for capital projects was recently secured at historically low rates and will result in annual interest savings compared to original estimates for the financial year.

Those two savings were taken on board by the administration, the SNP and Mr Borthwick in their new proposals.

The administration had already proposed savings of £686,000, including transferring five leisure centres to a leisure trust, increases in car parking charges and imposing a charge for the community alarm service for those who don’t already pay, with the exception of people over 70 and in receipt of council tax benefit.

The SNP’s original package proposed deleting the community alarm charge, reducing councillors’ special responsibility allowances by just under 12%, a 5% cut in school music fees and instrument hire and freezing the Dundee Rep grant.

Mr Borthwick’s sought to delete the community alarm charge, to reduce SRAs by almost 17% (his own basic allowance would face the same cut as he does not receive an SRA) and to delete social work meals and non-residential care charge increases.

Moving the administration’s budget, finance convener Fraser Macpherson said that over the last five years Dundee’s council tax had increased by 11.7% compared to the national average of 23.5%.

“This is a major achievement given the continuing problem of population decline,” he said.

SNP group leader Willie Sawers, moving the amendment, said further savings of £1.1 million found over the weekend justified what he claimed was his group’s call for adjournment.

Seconding him, councillor Elizabeth Fordyce pointed out that the community alarm service was a life saver for many people.

Administration leader Jill Shimi said it was important Dundee did not have Scotland’s highest council tax and attacked the SNP, saying they criticised some savings proposed but ended up taking them on board.

She also insisted that the adjournment was the administration’s decision.

Mr Macpherson’s motion was carried by 17 votes to 10, with Mr Borthwick abstaining, before he moved his amendment—referring to his proposal for reductions in allowances. He failed to find a seconder.