Spinning the savings

The agenda for next week’s Swansea Council budget meeting is already available on line (link). As publicised by the local media (makes a charge, don’t it?) it promises a long list of service reductions and price hikes; all of which add up to Holley & Co charging more for providing substantially less in the way of services.

Beside the cynical action of closing a much loved tennis centre, there are also a few other little gems in among the verbiage which include:

- Increases in school meals prices
- Cuts to a wide range of bus subsidies
- Turning off street lights throughout the city
- Further hikes in car parking prices
- Charges for residents parking permits
- Plans to sell off the Dylan Thomas centre
- Closing public conveniences
- Slashing grounds maintenance
- Closing libraries
- Market-testing pest control services
- Charging businesses an “economic rate” for collecting trade refuse
- New charges for skips and an enforcement officer
- Trimming tourist information costs
- Cutting grants to National Museum services

In other words, all the promises and fanfare of five years ago of how the Liberal Democrats and their political poodles would deliver a better, cleaner, healthier, more prosperous and fairer city have proved to be shallow, worthless claptrap. Yet there is not even a hint from the ruling bunch that they might be remotely responsible for this sorry state of affairs. As ever, accountability is something they often talk about but never actually seem to practice.

But why should they worry? Especially when you can find within the 140 page document that the council department which gleefully spins all the upbeat bullshit about a well-oiled & efficient local authority also happens to have the job of producing reports for members who serve on overview and scrutiny committees. Neat arrangement or what?