Havering Conservatives have published their budget proposals, showing Havering is able to keep libraries open, fund extra policing and reduce it's loan from government.
The Borough's budget will be debated by Councillors on Wednesday 26th February and comes on the back of an announcement that the HRA have borrowed an additional £88m from government to balance the books.
Opposition groups are able to table amendments to the budget proposal, which are then voted on by all councillors. Conservatives Leader, Cllr Michael White, describes this as "A chance to save the libraries and prove the council will do what it can to make Havering safer".
The Conservative's budget postpones the roll out of food waste collection, not required by government until April 2026, saving the council £1.5m this year. The saving is enough to hire extra police officers, appoint new planning staff, keep two libraries open, and reduce the loan by £500k. This proposal has been signed off a deliverable by council finance staff.
Councillor Michael White said;
"With our budget amendment, we have made a choice. We've chosen to fund the libraries, hire extra police, expand CCTV, speed up our broken planning system, and reduce our loan.
These were not difficult choices to make. The HRA administration was willing to spend £1.5m introducing food waste collection 6 months early. When I speak to residents they don't talk to me about food waste. They talk to me about making Havering safer and keeping libraries open.
With our budget amendment we have shown that the HRA have a choice. They can chose a safer borough, with open libraries and a lower debt, or they can continue to carry on as they are, driving debt up and services down."
The full proposal, by the Conservatives, includes
* Funding two new Met Police Officers for Havering, which cannot be dragged into Central London during protests
* Keep 2 of the 3 libraries (marked for closure) open
* Spend £500k on the installation of CCTV around parks
* Reduce our government loan by £500k
* Hire two new Planning Officers to clear the planning backlog
Please join our campaign to reverse the library cuts, sign our petition below!
