THE budget proposed by Argyll and Bute opposition councillors would have seen council tax increase by 4.9 per cent.
Conservative councillors also proposed to reject a five per cent cut to liveArgyll’s management fee and award the leisure trust £154,000, which was also part of the administration’s budget plans.
Other savings options that were rejected in the amendment included withdrawing council involvement in public toilets and the removal of environmental wardens, which were also rejected by the administration.
It also proposed to award £4.5 million of funding to the area’s health and social care partnership, while the administration proposed £4.218m.
Councillor Peter Wallace (Conservative, Isle of Bute) presented the Conservatives’ amendment at a full council meeting on Wednesday, February 25.
It was the first budget proposal presented by Councillor Wallace since he succeeded Councillor Gary Mulvaney (Conservative, Helensburgh Central) as the Conservative group leader in October.
He said: “Today we debate a budget shaped not by choice, but by circumstance, and those circumstances are stark.
“Households across Argyll and Bute are under enormous pressure. Every week families tell us they are struggling with higher prices and energy bills, and people are watching every penny and having to make difficult choices.
“In that context, the decisions we make today matter more than ever. We cannot add to the burden that residents are already carrying.
“That is why our proposed council tax increase is a responsible 4.9 per cent. It is why we have rejected proposals that would have made life harder for families.
“I am proposing a budget that puts our communities first while taking into account the financial pressure facing the council, as a result of years of underfunding by the SNP government.
“We recognise that far too often, local residents see their taxes going up while services decline, and when people are struggling with the cost of living, that is unacceptable.
“Our budget concentrates on frontline services. protects the most vulnerable, and if there is an area that exposes the scale of the crisis facing local government, it is health and social care.
“We have seen reports, heard concerns from staff, families and service users, we know the system is under extreme strain, and yet this administration refused to recognise it as an emergency.”
The council was presented with a motion to declare a health and social care emergency in November, which was voted down.
Councillor Wallace’s amendment was seconded by Councillor Maurice Corry (Conservative, Lomond North), who said: “I fully support the opposition leader’s statement.
“The cost of living is important is considering our amendment, protecting health and social care services, and liveArgyll is important to the people of Argyll and Bute.
“The council tax is set at a sensible rate and our amendment reflects this in the sense that it reflects common sense while protecting health and social care services.
“People are healthy and happy living in this area and we want to encourage people to come and live here.”
