Tories accused of ‘shutting down democracy’ as budget debate cut short

The approval of the budget and council tax is the most important event in the district council’s calendar and saw the authority’s share of an average council tax bill increased by £5 for 2020/21.

While no issues were raised with that figure on Tuesday (March 3), members of the Liberal Democrats tabled a number of suggestions for using the £521,800 revenue surplus which had been recorded.

While speaking about air quality action and the need for more commitment to cycling, Dr Kate O’Kelly (Lib Dem, Harting) was cut off by chairman Elizabeth Hamilton (Con, The Witterings).

Mrs Hamilton said they needed to ‘wrap this up’ and go to the vote as ‘several councillors have to be at another meeting by 6 o’clock’.

She was accused of ‘shutting down democracy’ when she tried to call for the vote, before members were reminded that she was within her rights as laid out in the council’s constitution.

Lib Dem leader Adrian Moss declared: “If those are the rules, those are the rules – but they are wrong.”

He added: “We could and should have had this budget on a shorter agenda so that people had an open discussion. This is shutting down democracy.”

The amendments called for the surplus to be spread between cycling and walking infrastructure, decreasing air pollution in the district’s four Air Quality Management Areas, and the appointment of consultants and advisers to help in the preparation of the Local Plan.

They also asked for £1m to ring-fenced in a reserve focussed on climate emergency work.

In the end, though, with the amendments failing by 18 votes to 14, it would have made no difference if the discussion had continued for another hour.

John Ward, director of corporate services, told members the council was in a ‘very unstable financial period’ with no certainty about what money would be coming in beyond 2021.

With the results of the government’s Fair Funding Review still to be announced, this is the same for all councils.

Mr Ward said: “The surplus that is available is a real opportunity for us to future-proof our budget and assure that we can, as far as possible, protect against future cuts that may otherwise become necessary next year if we are to balance our budget, which is a legal requirement.”

Tony Dignum (Con, Chichester North) agreed, saying the council should not be ‘divvying up’ any surplus, especially as it would not take much to wipe out that surplus.

He added: “We are already anticipating deficits in the next couple of years.

“We want to avoid cuts in our services if we possibly can and using the surplus at the end of the financial year to spread over the next two years’ deficit will be extremely valuable.”