An Extraordinary Full Council meeting was called at Guildford Borough Council this evening (30th August) as the Council faces balancing a £2.6 million deficit.
The Lib Dems have built-up a substantial budget problem the Lib Dems, as they currently have only eight months to balance the current deficit.
By law, local authority Councils must have their books in check each financial year. If they fail to balance their budget, they face a bankruptcy situation wherein a Section 114 notice is issued. This sees financial control taken away from elected Councillors and handed to commissioners from central Government whose job is to balance the budget, in whatever means possible.
The current Lib Dem Lead for Finance at the Council, Councillor Richard Lucas (Ash Vale) refused to quantify the risk of the council having to issue this notice.
Commenting, Cllr David Bilbe said:
"In an environment where money is tight, you have to be extremely competent with respect to how you manage and control your finances. Accounting errors, difficulties, opaqueness they don't help."
Video source: The Guildford Dragon
