Staff at Lichfield District Council have been told that “serious cuts” are vital as it bids to fill a £1.7million hole in its funding.
Slow business growth, caps on council tax rises and a drop in income caused by welfare reforms have been blamed for the tough economic picture facing the local authority.
Around 20 jobs are at risk as part of Lichfield District Council’s Fit for the Future review, while a number of services could also be under threat.
And in an update to staff seen by LichfieldLive, the local authority said it needed to be “realistic” in terms of income it could generate going forward.
“Fit for the Future is not all about cutting our budgets and increasing income,” the May briefing told workers. “It’s about becoming an organisation that can robustly meet future challenges.
“Fundamentally, we know that we cannot tackle our financial issues by growing our income alone. Serious cuts to our spending will also be vital.
“Given the current economic climate, which is impacting on the number of new homes being built and on businesses starting up or expanding, together with the fact the government has capped the amount of money we can generate through council tax by limiting any future increases, we need to be realistic about the amount of income we can raise.
“We are also forecasting a possible drop in council tax income and an increase in our costs as a result of the recent welfare reforms.”
Workers at the council were also told that an underspend of £617,000 for 2012/13 would be added to the reserves in order to “reduce the impact of savings that will need to be found in future years”.
“Although we have made good progress in the first phase of Fit for the Future, we cannot afford to be complacent,” the staff briefing warned.
“It is vital we continue to focus on the purpose and priorities for our council going forward, and carry on our work to find ongoing reductions in
service costs and increases in income.
“This will be achieved through the planned programme of cross‐cutting service reviews and other initiatives.
“This approach will allow us to take a measured and reasoned approach to future savings. Without a continued focus on Fit for the Future we will not be able to properly balance the budget in future years.”
