Preparing for the ‘budget scrutiny committee’ meeting last night.
The meeting was an opportunity for all Councillors (who aren’t a Cabinet member), from any Party, to ask questions about the budget and make suggestions and/or recommendations directly to the Leader and the Cabinet.
This was a big opportunity for the Labour opposition to show us some of their ideas and to scrutinise ours. Their big ideas?
drum roll……
……To hamper the spirit and soul of Tamworth by slashing its events. These occasions often draw big crowds and cutting them in favour of 'virtue signalling' would knock small businesses hard which are the lifeblood of our communities, pushing small business owners into ruin.
Labour’s lack of preparedness and leadership of discussion really shone through - they didn't even want to chair it! Now just image if they're in charge of the Council!
We the Tamworth Conservatives called out some key positive items for our Town and debunked some of the ‘opposition myths’ that creep in.
Some positive items I highlighted include:
Council tax increase UNDER the maximum permitted, despite inflationary pressures
Increased grants for 3rd sector organisations in our Town
A new council tax reduction scheme, supporting those who need it the most
Increased funding for home adaptations for disabled residents
Increased events to support our Town’s economy and small business owners
Increased ‘street scene’ team size, to have more staff to keep our Town looking neat and tidy
A new £30k councillor grant’s scheme, allowing all Councillors the ability to award grants to groups in their Wards up to £1k each
Capital investment for play areas (£200k), new footbridge by the snowdome (£80k), damp and mould works (£500k) and much much more!
And all of this whilst balancing the budget over the 3-year period; bucking the trend of some other local authorities 
With your Local Conservatives you get strategic thinking, sensible spending and plans that support every corner of our Town for the future.
