The Liberal Democrats acknowledge that some increases in council tax, fees and charges are ‘unavoidable’, but say the council should be “proactive in generating income rather than simply passing costs directly onto residents.
A budget amendment proposed by Cllr Humaira Ali at last night’s council assembly called for a voluntary ‘tourist tax’ of £1 per hotel night stay in Southwark and reiterated the long-running demand for ‘golden goodbyes’ to be scrapped – raising £160,000.
A key demand is a small cabinet in the council, with money saved on salaries spent on an innovation team responsibly for finding ways to generate cash for services.
The formal opposition claims ditching two cabinet members and deputy posts could net nearly £80k.
But the ideas were shot down by the Labour majority.
@SouthwarkLabour votes against real action on #climateemergency and finding new ways to generate new income in #southwark and increase funding for vital legal services #shameful
— Southwark Lib Dems (@swklibdems) February 26, 2020
Ali described uncertainty on future financial commitments from Westminster as ‘the beer barrel heading for the Niagara Falls’.
