Mendip District Council (MDC) will discuss draft accounts on 11 August. And it should prove an interesting discussion given the size of the hole in their balance sheet.
Councils do not become insolvent in quite the way that companies do. However they do rely on tax payers and governments to bail them out when things go awry. And after eighteen months of COVID, a lot of things have had the chance to go awry. Many local authorities were tasked with supporting local business and community groups in the pandemic. They did receive very large sums from central government to disperse. But the toll on services, on staff and on resources has not been small.
Going into the pandemic, in the year to 31 March 2020, MDC was showing miniscule net reserves. Just £349k for a council with annual income this year of over £78m.
So perhaps it is not a surprise that this years accounts (to 31 March 2021) show negative net assets. The council now has net liabilities of £8.917m. This is partly as a result of spending £1.7m more than it received in income. But mostly it is a result of the council’s pension liability. This has risen by £8.2m.
All of which should make for an interesting discussion on Wednesday.
Disperse is something some councils might do with our money, but I think you meant to write disburse (and probably did, but that dratted auto”correct” may have taken over).
“SUMORSAETE EALLE” 2022!
Indeed an ‘interesting’ discussion on Wednesday; those of us around pace Local Government Reform 1974, beyond our comprehension, net liabilities of £8.917m, the writer sometime Chairman, the former Administration & Finance Committee, it would have been a ‘resignation’ matter of which on ‘removal’ of the councils ‘auditors’ from a ‘shadowy’ district-auditor’ to a ‘national’ firm of auditors, the introduction and monitoring of Value for Money (VFM) avoiding the rush of ‘underspend’ at 31 March each financial year-end. This was the days prior to ‘doctrinaire’ councils and a salutary lesson for the ‘future’ Somerset Unitary Council, witness to you ‘nascent’ reporting in the ’emergent’ of many a ‘paper-candidate’ under the guise of ‘political’ parties. (Leveller ‘live’ posting: 11 July ‘Wheels keep turning’)
“Yet barely a year later in May 2020 we had three resignations and new elections for councillors in St Cuthbert and St Thomas Wards. By May 2021 another four councillors had resigned and we had elections to fill four vacancies in Central Ward, St Cuthbert’s Wards and St Thomas’s Ward. Then following Cllr Parker’s resignation earlier this year a by election was called for 13 July (next week). This will be a three-way race between Wells independents (Denise Ann Dennis), LibDems (Tony Robbins) and Conservatives (Mandy May Thomas-Atkin”. Afraid yet a ‘further’ resignation subsequently!
You couldn’t run a business this way witness the ‘flawed’ business plan in the ‘purchase’ of The Portway Annexe via Wells City Council (Parish Council) circa £650k). We need a return of those community ‘first’ candidates to contest the forthcoming UNITARY election 2022 ‘worthy’ successors to those immediately post WW2. SCC to the fore across Agriculture/Education/Roads etc.
No wonder then that the Leader of Mendip District Council, who clearly does not understand the virtues of having money in the reserves in readiness for an unforeseen crisis, and her fellow LibDems are so keen to hide their financial mess by merging with the secretive South Somerset District Council (also controlled by
LibDems).
Cllr Wykes absolute lack of consideration for her council tax payers in wanting to spend their money on challenging the Secretary of State’s decision on the format of the Unitary Authority looked bad before but now, in view is the black hole in Mendip’s finances, her attitude seems to be one of utter contempt for council tax payers.