11 June (Part 1) - Me, you, Bexley; we are all broke or soon will be
Labour
Councillors have reported a briefing on Council finances held last night. It
says that Bexley is up the creek by an additional £22·5 million due to the Corona virus panic.
Overnight one of my anonymous correspondents reported similar figures, except
that they are not that similar. Probably they are all right in their own different ways.
Mr. or Mrs. Anon says the there
has been additional expenditure of close to £15 million and revenue losses of £26 million.
A breakdown is provided and the most interesting items of extra expenditure are
PPE provision £1·3m. Accommodation for rough sleepers £2·2m. SEN Transport 1·5m.
Additional staff £884k. Food for vulnerable residents £229k.
Income streams have dried up too.
Advertising income down by £413k. Commercial rents £2·45m. Parking £3·3m. Garden
waste 500k. Business rates £5·3m. Council Tax Collection and lack of growth,
more than £11m. Court penalties 595k.
The figures were supported by documentation which is not published here in case it is
restricted and might indicate the source.
Taxes will go up and jobs will be lost. You can’t all sit on beaches and be paid
for the privilege and expect there not to be a payback time.