No increase in council tax, a new campaign to clean up Renfrewshire, and major investment in roads and primary class size reduction are among the highlights of Renfrewshire Council’s budget for 2008-09.
Councillors have approved a £413million budget for spending on council services for the coming year, along with a three-year £156.5m capital investment programme.
“Renfrewshire is seeing the benefit of a developing partnership between councils and the Scottish Government,” said Councillor Derek Mackay, leader of Renfrewshire Council.
“We have secured the resources to make sure there is no increase in council tax while at the same time having more freedom to deliver our own key policies.”
“The council is delivering on its main priorities and is improving a wide range of services while not increasing the burden on council taxpayers.”
“Our budget will also see significant investment in modernising schools, improving the condition of roads and bridges, boosting support for the care of vulnerable children, and introducing our flagship policy on giving communities more involvement in decision making.”
One of the council’s key proposals will be a package of measures to improve the environment. An additional £2.2m per year will be spent on recycling and waste management. This will also bring kerbside recycling collections to the 8,000 Renfrewshire households which don’t currently have that option. A ‘Clean Renfrewshire’ anti-litter campaign will be launched this spring with a budget of £257,000 while a further £250,000 will support a community caretaking pilot scheme to keep areas clean and litter free.
The budget features further significant support for town centres. Johnstone will benefit from a £200,000 programme of landscaping and access works linking the town centre to the major developments by Morrisons and Dawn Homes. The current town centre works in Renfrew will benefit from improved links to the Riverside regeneration area with £300,000 of capital investment over the next two years.
