NINETY-five days after the process officially started, five days after it was supposed to be set and just seven days before its legally-imposed deadline, Brighton and Hove City Council has set its budget for 2015/16.
The long-drawn out debate ended with a nail-bitingly close vote at this afternoon's budget meeting with councillors voting 26-19 in favour of a compromise agreement, with two abstentions. After a six hour meeting on Thursday which had to be adjourned, councillors reconvened today to take just half an hour to make a decision.
Under the newly agreed budget, under-threat children's centres and the mayoralty office have been saved following weeks of campaigning – including the Save Our Centres campaign launched by The Argus.
All 15 Conservative councillors and three of the six rebel Green councillors present voted against the proposals.
A combination of Labour and Green councillors voted through the 1.99% council tax rise budget and removed the prospect of a historic intervention by Whitehall commissioners to enter council offices and dictate multi-million pound cuts.
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