An £11 million funding gap will force Angus Council to pull its purse strings even tighter over the next three years, a public spending watchdog has warned.
Audit Scotland has published a “best value” report into the council’s structure and services, and has found it has yet to identify almost half of its £26.5m shortfall.
The council’s transparency was also found wanting, with auditors asking for a “greater level of accountability” and fewer private meetings over critical issues.
And while the local authority’s Transforming Angus shakeup of structure and services has found some savings, auditors warned that some changes will take up to four years to make regular money, and the council has been “slow” to begin cutting.
At present, the council has agreed savings of £15.2m from efficiency measures, service reductions, the formation of an arms-length culture and leisure trust, and Transforming Angus.
“The remaining £11.3m of savings have not yet been identified, with a particularly noticeable shortfall in 2017/18 and 2018/19,” according to the body.
It is expected that service reviews over the next year may find savings by cutting staff numbers, redesigning more services, and examining the schools estate.
The council’s leader, Councillor Iain Gaul, said the report is a “fair and positive read overall.”
“Angus Council has changed significantly in the past few years in both structure and culture,” he said.
“It is encouraging that the auditors recognise that our strategic approach is sound and the pace of change is increasing.
“We have streamlined our management structure and made it more effective.
“We have now established a culture and leisure charitable trust.
“And our shift to agile working will significantly cut the number of buildings staff occupy.
“In the coming months we’ll be talking to residents about council priorities and spending for the next four to five years.
“The strong strategic leadership and rigorous scrutiny that we now have in place will help us make the tough but essential decisions to close the significant funding gap.”
A previous Audit Scotland report in 2010 found “antagonistic” divisions among councillors and the new report acknowledged “political relationships can still be fragile”.
This has led to a number of key issues being debated behind closed doors, with routine briefings among the minority SNP administration to discuss contentious agenda items.
“We attended council and committee meetings which were relatively short, with little discussion of key issues prior to decisions being made,” the report adds.
“The council needs to establish more open and transparent forms of scrutiny, building on the good working relations established in briefings and member/officer groups, and encouraging more debate and questioning to be carried out in public.”
Antagonistic nature
A number of local issues have divided councillors since the formation of the new administration in 2012.
The members’ services building at the Cross in Forfar was to be sold to pub giants Wetherspoon in a closed-doors deal in 2014, worth £350,000.
However a local backlash saw the superpub deal collapse and the council was forced to put 5-7 The Cross on the open market — a buyer has yet to be found.
Forfar independent councillor Colin Brown was suspended for two months after he was reported to the Standards Commission over the issue, which was a “green paper” item not for the public’s ears.
Moves to close recycling centres in Carnoustie, Monifieth and Brechin, and replace the existing facilities in Forfar and Kirriemuir, caused upset among members of the public and some elected members when details were first published in The Courier.
It later emerged there had been no public consultation on the proposals.
Although the Carnoustie and Brechin skips were saved due to public outcry, an attempt to save Monifieth by amendment and referral to full council were both denied.
