A BID to “cull the political class” and save taxpayers £20 million has been rejected as West Sussex County Council agreed its budget.

A Ukip amendment calling for a £250,000 review into creating one council covering the whole of West Sussex and putting up to 300 councillors out of work was turned down.

Councillors also rejected proposals to undo controversial waste tip charges, create a £1.3 million hardship fund for under-funded county schools and spend £1 million more on adult social care.

The agreed budget means that residents will see their council tax rise by 3.95 per cent for the second year running after six years of freezes.

The budget, agreed after a four-hour debate at County Hall in Chichester yesterday, will mean the council makes £17 million cuts next year as well as using £9.4 million of savings to avert further cuts and £15 million from additional council tax receipts to fill a £40 million funding gap.

Plans to abolish the seven district and borough councils to create an authority similar to neighbours Brighton and Hove have long been mooted.

But they have gained prominence again with recently announced plans to create a unitary authority in Oxford saving £100 million over the first five years.

Ukip’s Mike Glennon said the authority needed a “game changer” to avoid repeatedly taking millions from council services every year.

Cllr Glennon claimed the Conservative administration was reluctant to explore the plans because it would mean “culling their political chums”.

He said: “This county council could save £20 million a year at least.

“We have 370 councillors across West Sussex, more than one for every day of the year, and most of the public don’t know what we do or know what each council does.”

But council leader Louise Goldsmith said creating one or two unitary authorities in the county would cost £519 million to deliver just £19 million of savings a year and would take up to seven years.

She said: “I don’t think our residents would thank us for spending £250,000 to spend another £519 million to deliver chaos for five years.”

The Tory administration came under fire for raising council taxes for a second year after years of freezes and for dipping into its reserves.

Cllr Goldsmith said: “I would prefer not to charge 3.95 per cent but I would absolutely hate it if we were not doing the best we can for our elderly, weak and vulnerable.”

COUNCIL TAX TO RISE FOR SECOND YEAR

THE Conservative administration prides itself on being “low-tax Conservatives” but after six years of freezes even it has been forced into reluctant rises.

A 3.95 per cent rise for the second consecutive year has been agreed while the authority is also planning to repeat 3.95 per cent rises for the next three years until 2020/21.

The rise will mean residents living in a Band D household paying an extra 92 pence per week from April.

Council leader Louise Goldsmith said the council rejected the Government offer to raise council tax by an additional one per cent because with household bills rising it would put too much pressure on residents “just about managing”.

Her finance lead Cllr Jeremy Hunt said the Government had made it clear revenue should be raised locally and in order to protect frontline services there was no option but to raise council tax.

Ukip leader Sandra James said the rise “exploded the myth” that it was a low taxation administration.

She said the council had already failed on one of its long-term goals to minimise the burden of taxation on residents.

DISPUTE OVER SCHOOL FUNDS

WEST Sussex schools are among the worst funded in the country.

But a Labour amendment to create a £1.3 million financial lifeline for schools for the worst cases suffering from a lack of fair funding was rejected by councillors.

Also unsuccessful was a Ukip amendment for £750,000 of additional funding for the schools’ safer routes scheme with suggestions additional funding could be made available to equip lollipop men and ladies with body cameras.

Finance lead Jeremy Hunt did confirm there would be £1 million to maintain school counselling services.

Cllr Michael Jones said the financial crisis in authority schools meant heads were now facing compulsory redundancies for staff, restrictions on what GCSE subjects they taught and the end of school trips.

Conservative Peter Griffiths accused his Labour colleague of fake news over the impact on schools while Cllr Hunt said only 14 schools had negative budgets while many had balances of up to £100,000.

WASTE TIPS CHARGES HERE TO STAY

CONTROVERSIAL plans to cut hours and charge residents to leave certain types of waste at council tips were the most unpopular decision made in his 12 years service, according to Lib Dem Francis Oppler.

Meanwhile, Labour’s Michael Jones said disastrous effects were already being seen since its introduction four months ago with the amount of tyres, plasterboard, soil and hardcore dropping between 60 per cent and 95 per cent.

Cllr Jones said the waste was either being flytipped or going into domestic waste with the council’s processors for domestic waste unable to cope.

Conservative David Barling said the charges were lawful and he wanted to “slay myths” on increasing flytipping. He said it was on the rise before October while the amount being flytipped had reduced since the changes in charges. He said the council was reluctant to introduce charges but this was the least worse option and not making the saving would have had far worse consequences on other services.

A VAST OCEAN OF NEED

IT’S rare that councillors from four political parties agree but on adult social care it is unanimous – there is not enough funding.

Council leader Louise Goldsmith said adult social care services were nationally “seriously, seriously underfunded” and while the adult social care levy was “helping” it was “just a few drops in a vast ocean of need”.

She said the council would continue to call for a national funding review.

Liberal Democrat group leader James Walsh said there was a huge and unprecedented crisis with a new report revealing 30,000 unexpected deaths last year linked to health cuts.

His party was unsuccessful with an amendment for £1 million of additional funding for carers support, care housing and early prevention.

Conservative Peter Catchpole said councillors should not be frightening residents about not being able to access services and that nobody in West Sussex should be fearful of not getting the right care.

UKIP IS ‘IN LA LA LAND’

UKIP plans to do away with district and borough councils was rejected at yesterday’s budget.

Group leader Sandra James said the council should listen to respected consultants predicting £100 million savings for Oxford, adding the authority needed courageous answers.

There was some support with party colleague Ann Rapnik saying she feels the conflict all the time with overlapping authorities while Lib Dem Steve Waight said he was very sympathetic to the plans even though he is also a borough councillor.

He said the Conservative administration was opposed because they were chasing the “devolution myth” in the mistaken belief there would be lots of additional funding with no strings or “nooses” attached.

Conservative Andrew Barrett Miles said the last reorganisation in 1970s cost a lot of money and took long time to settle down and if Ukip thought it would deliver immediate improvements they were in La La Land.

Fellow Tory Bob Lanzer said residents had a very strong sense of community identity to district and boroughs, towns and parishes.

YOUTH SUPPORT CONTINUES

Despite the cuts, West Sussex County Council said it was finding more funding for children’s services.

Conservative Peter Evans was full of praise for the decision to move THINK family into the main budget to secure its long-term stability.

He said the county’s adoption of the troubled families initiative had received national recognition in visits from Whitehall and the US.

Elsewhere though there was criticism with Liberal Democrat Francis Oppler critical of the cutting of the 3in1 travel card for youngsters.

He said the daughter of a single parent on benefits because of ill health was now forced to spend £11 a week to go to Chichester College, leaving her very depressed, feeling guilty and in danger of dropping out of college.

Conservative Bob Lanzer said youngsters had not been left with nothing after the card’s withdrawal, with added support from a topping up of bursary grants and negotiating discounts with bus companies.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE NEXT TO TRY TO SETTLE BUDGET

WEST Sussex County Council agreed to £17 million of savings yesterday for its 2017/18 budget.

Councillors voted through a 3.95 per cent council tax rise to take effect from April by 35 votes to nine with 13 abstentions.

On Thursday it will be the turn of Brighton and Hove City Council to try to set its budget with more than £20 million of savings proposed.

The Labour administration is planning to take the full 4.99 per cent council tax rise allowed by the Government without referendum.

It is set to be another long night with last year’s budget finally being thrashed out as the hour approached midnight.

In 2015 councillors needed two bites of the cherry to finally set the budget, coming back five days later to seal the deal.

Earlier this month East Sussex County Council was the first of the big three authorities to pass its budget.

The authority also plumped for the largest possible council tax rise and £17 million of cuts.

Union officials believe the full effect of these cuts with predicted job losses of between 200 and 250 would start to bite from September 2017, four months after the forthcoming council elections.