By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
Broxtowe Borough Council is facing an almost £4 million budget gap by 2029 – but hopes to close it with a ‘prudent’ approach to spending.
The council’s Cabinet met yesterday (October 5) to discuss the state of the authority’s finances.
The group of senior councillors met ahead of the formal settlement from the government in December – which will reveal how much the authority gets from Whitehall.
The council will then work to finalise its official budget for a Cabinet meeting in February – using a mixture of council tax, Government grant and other income.
Its budget for the 2023 to 2024 financial year sat at just over £6 million, after an underspend of around £1.8m, as of the end of March this year.
But council documents estimate a budget gap of £3,958,000 in the 2028 to 2029 financial year.
The council has a Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) – which allows it to see what steps it can take to offset this negative balance.
These steps include raising additional income from areas such as council tax, garden waste income and staffing efficiencies.
The council currently predicts a potential extra £50,000 in the 2025 to 2026 financial year from Bramcote Crematorium, with the the introduction of a pre-paid cremation deed- although the proposals are not yet concrete.
Speaking in the meeting, Councillor Greg Marshall (Lab), the Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for resources, spoke of the council’s “prudent” approach to spending.
He said: “[It’s] the same approach we have taken in previous years, where at this stage things look bleaker than in several years they turn out to be.
“Through the work of the council and the efficiencies of the council, the chief executive and the team, we manage to deliver efficiencies and save.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, Cllr Marshall said: “We will be looking very closely at what the budget means for the council.”
He spoke of a strong track record of “no cuts to jobs or services” in the efforts to bridge budget gaps.
Also speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Stephen Carr (Ind) said he is “quite confident” that the million-pound gap will be bridged in a few years.
He said: “I have never seen that materialise, the council will look at that- we would be out of business if that was the case.
“Broxtowe are in a very healthy position financially compared to other authorities around us.
“That’s because it’s always been good with money and not spending stupidly and because of that we are in strong position compared to others.”
