COUNCILLORS are set to vote on a budget that will see council tax rise and funding cuts to services for vulnerable groups.

The Green-led administration in Brighton and Hove will put forward proposals tomorrow that would aim to save millions of pounds after a forecast revealed a shortfall of £18 million in council finances.

However, cuts would impact the Youth Arts Award scheme, youth grants and ward budgets where councillors support small-scale projects in their area.

Council tax will also rise by 1.99 per cent - the maximum permitted without the need for a city-wide referendum - as well as an extra one per cent increase to cover the cost of adult social care.

A £25 increase for parking permits in areas with "high demand" schemes in central Brighton is also proposed, with a £10 increase for other parking permits.

The council's corporate plan for the next year allocates £22,000 towards investment for beautification of the Madeira Terrace, as well as a combined total of more than half a million for the refurbishment of the Victoria Fountain and the seafront heritage lighting renewal programme.

£50,000 of the budget will be assigned to expanding the graffiti pilot and funding additional clean up of the city, as well as £5,000 in support for drink spiking tests.

Labour calls to reverse proposed youth service cuts

Labour co-leader Carmen Appich criticised the proposed cut in ward budgets from £1,000 to £500 as "shameful".

She said: "None of us in there became councillors so we can say year after year, pay more and you will get less, or we'll scrimp and save around to find savings here or there."

The party will bring forward proposals to tackle disadvantage and those struggling to get by in tomorrow's meeting, with plans to extend free swimming for young people, abolish library charges for children, reverse proposed cuts to youth services, and secure funding for food provision.

Cllr Appich said: "With the double whammy of energy bills spiralling and the government's incoming VAT hike, coming after a decade of austerity, rising housing hosts and compressed wages, we are acutely aware of the cost-of-living crisis our residents are facing.

"We want to see a budget that builds a fairer city with a sustainable future, and we believe our amendments will help deliver that, so I hope they will win the support of all councillors."

A report presented to councillors earlier this month warned of the threat of government intervention, as well as an impact on service delivery, should the council fail to effectively manage its finances.

'Taxpayers paying for council mismanagement' - Tories

Conservative finance spokesman Joe Miller said that poor policy decisions made by councillors have begun to catch up with the current administration.

He said: "Unfortunately, it is the taxpayer that will now have to pay for these policy failures, poor mismanagement and waste of this council, as the Greens and Labour plan to hike council taxes once again.

"The council has been throwing taxpayers' money down a sinkhole, and now has created a budget black hole for the city."

The Conservative group has proposed a range of amendments for this year's budget, including a £70,000 package to protect women's safety in the night-time economy, redirecting £2.35 million to restore the historic courtyard of buildings on the Stanmer Estate, and provide an additional £16.19 million for Madeira Terraces - enough to complete the full restoration.

Budget 'extremely challenging' after government cuts

Councillor Tom Druitt, joint finance lead, said developing proposals for the 2022/23 budget had been "extremely challenging" and said that cuts to local government funding over a decade and the cost of dealing with the pandemic have put the council in a difficult situation.

He said: "After the administration went through a really painstaking three-month process of looking at all of the really horrible things that were on the table, we came up with just under £10 million worth (of savings) and we were asked to go back after the first tranche of savings proposals to then find more.

"Everything that we said absolutely no to in the autumn was suddenly back on the table. We have worked day and night trying to reduce the number of those things as much as possible.

"Our priorities are the protection of services for the most vulnerable, supporting the city's recovery from the pandemic, and investing for the future."

The 2022-23 budget is due to be set at a meeting of the full council at the Brighton Centre tomorrow afternoon.

It is due to be webcast on the council's website.

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