MONMOUTH Town Council may be in line to reject requests for them to help lower the county budget.

The Finance and Policy Committee, a sub committee of the full council, met on Monday night (23rd November) to finalise budget recommendations for the town for the next financial year (2016/ 2017).

If town councillors accept recommendations put before them by the committee at their next meeting on 7th December, the proposals will be put into action.

In October, Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) officers and Councillor Bob Greenland put a financial aid package before town councillors to help MCC manage its austerity cuts.

The financial proposal totalled £75,000, which included a £25,000 contribution towards grass maintenance on Chippenham Mead and the Sportsground, and £30,000 to keep the One Stop Shop at its current opening hours of 38.

Supporting MCC in the grass maintenance of Monmouth’s green spaces was not popular and some councillors felt that sports clubs and others who use the ground should shoulder some of the financial burden.

It was unanimously decided to recommend ignoring the request by MCC’s Operations Manager Roger Hoggins for money towards keeping Chippenham and the Sportsground in good order, and the suggested £30,000 aid package for the One Stop Shop and library hub was also recommended for rejection. Cllr Bob Hayward said that the new hub was the MCC ‘interface’ with the public and should be maintained by them.

The general feeling was that town councillors would rather take over assets than support MCC staff in the provision of services.

Continued on Page 2

Continued from Front Page

Cllr Bob Hayward said that supporting the local authority in the provision of services “amounts to a double taxation” on Monmouth residents.

A particular request from MCC that proved unpopular was the £20,000 to keep the Blestium toilets open. The town council already maintain the Agincourt toilet block and they felt that it would be cheaper to acquire the Blestium facility and run both sites together.

Councillor Terry Christopher said that there was a strong feeling within the Environmental Affairs committee that they should take over Monmouth’s cemetery and reopen the site for new burials. So it was agreed to add £35,000 to the budget to cover the running costs of the Blestium toilets and the cemetery.

Town Councillors then debated whether to recommend renewing the CCTV package, the current one is due to expire in March 2016. Cllr Jeans Hall felt that it was the biggest deterrent in town: “I feel safe with CCTV”. Not everyone felt the same way, Cllr Ann Were disagreed with Cllr Munslow who said residents felt more secure. She argued that the information gained by CCTV was sparse and her concern was that crime had increased in residential areas.

Seven councillors felt that it was worth recommending continuing with CCTV for another three years, two voted against (one abstention). It remains to be seen whether those seven votes will carry the proposal when it is voted on at next month’s full town council meeting. The last vote split the council and it was only the chairman’s casting vote that continued the support for the scheme. With another six councillors still to show their hand on the CCTV debate, it is not a certainty that the scheme can continue.

The next town council meeting is on 7th December at the Shire Hall.