Parking charges are set to rise in an effort to address the £1.5m overspend discovered in Gloucester City Council's finances, and an independent inquiry will be initiated to determine what went wrong.
Finance chiefs at North Warehouse have attributed the council's "challenging" situation to the lack of audited or unaudited accounts following the 2021 cyber attack.
City leaders agreed on Wednesday night (September 10) to increase parking charges, reassess the council's fees and charges, and explore ways to generate more revenue while reevaluating the business plans of Gloucester Guildhall, Museum and Blackfriars Priory.
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Deputy leader and resources cabinet member Declan Wilson (LD, Hucclecote) informed the cabinet meeting the authority has been depending on manually produced accounting records and finance reports since the cyber attack.
These were use to gauge the financial health of the authority and were relied upon for crucial budget decisions during both the previous administration and the current one.
Cllr Wilson revealed that the council had at one point four years' worth of open books.
"[It] is unprecedented in 35 years of working in various finance roles, mostly in the automotives and aerospace sectors, I've never seen anything quite like this," he said.
"However, over the last year we have made a lot of progress, and I think I need to update you on where we are with regards to the years that were incomplete when we took, when I took on this portfolio."
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He outlined the timeline for each financial year's account approval.
"2021/2022, we got signed off in December 2024," he said.
"2022/23 was signed off earlier this year in January, before the audit committee in February.
"2023/2024 are currently going through the process with the auditors and should be signed off soon, and 2024/2025 should be signed off by the statutory deadline, which is next February.
"Once that deadline is met, it is my ambition to ensure that we take the drama out of this whole process and start meeting our deadlines as a matter of course."
He recognised the dedication and commitment of the finance team in addressing the issue and how they have operated under tremendous strain.
"Where we are actually at this moment in time is that we have roughly £1.5m less in reserves than we thought that we had when we set the budget last year, and for an authority of this size, that gives us a very, very serious challenge," he said.
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The council was facing financial difficulties before the £1.5m overspend emerged, including salary rises, postponements to The Forum's completion and additional works required at Gloucester Museum, he added.
The restructuring of local government across the county is also anticipated to cost the City Council £1m.
Cllr Wilson said they must boost their general fund balance and consequently car parking fees will rise in accordance with inflation in November. "We cannot have a negative balance, so we must deliver in the savings already in the plan," he said.
"We will look at recruitment and sadly we will have to increase car park charges by inflation.
"We will review all fees and charges, all non-essential spend, and we will look at the scope of the contract and see if there are any other savings to be found there, officers of information and asset management review to develop a higher income generating profile and we will revisit the business plans of the Guildhall Museum and Blackfriars."
He further emphasised the necessity for the entire council to shift its approach, with all political parties collaborating effectively.
"We must cooperate. We have a huge financial challenge, and the only way we can get through this is if we all start working with each other and start working together and doing what's best for the city and start playing all the political games."
Councillor Sarah Sawyer (LD, Longlevens) successfully tabled an amendment calling for an independent investigation to determine what had gone awry.
Council Leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) supported this motion, with the cabinet endorsing the report's recommendations.
He had previously clarified during the meeting that the budget deficit stems from operational expenditure related to service delivery, rather than capital investment in council initiatives.
Car parking fees will rise across council-operated facilities from November 1.