Hadleigh Town Council staff have rejected several proposed cost savings from councillors, following the council's failure to agree a final budget last month.

As reported in Nub News last month, Hadleigh town councillors asked the council's Clerk and Finance Officer to make cuts to the council's budget for next year in order to make it a 'near break even budget'.

The proposed budget had a reported drop in reserves of £465,000, and an overall deficit of £514,145 for the next financial year. The proposed level of reserves was below the recommended minimum of three months' running costs.

The main reason given for the budget shortfall is the new pavilion at Layham Road Sportsground, estimated to cost £828,786, not including interest payments on a £120,000 PWLB loan.

Pavilion is huge financial brden for Hadleigh taxpayer

In January, councillors could not agree on what expenditure to cut and delegated this task to council staff, who were to receive suggestions from councillors. The council's Clerk and Finance Officer were given the final say.

At the same meeting, councillors approved a precept (council tax) rise of 3%, which means an increase of £4.11 over the year for a Band D council tax payer.

This week, in what appears to be a reversal of its previous decision to give the final say delegated to staff, the council will meet to agree the staff's new version of the budget.

In the new proposed budget, available on the council's website, the level of reserves is still below the recommended minimum, and the overall deficit is reduced to £485,763.

Proposed cuts include reducing the town events budget by £10,000, the Guildhall grant by £10,000, removing the advertising spend for the cemetery, and limiting the community asset repairs to essential maintenance only.

Cuts are also proposed to stationery costs and the mayor's allowance. Current mayor Gordon McLeod is due to step down in May, so his successor will have to make do with £600, cut from the £2,000 current allowance.

The staff's report says: "from May the mayor will need to be more thrifty with their organisation and spend on fundraising events".

According to the meeting papers, council staff rejected councillors' proposed cuts of £10,000 to the grants budget, a £2,000 cut to Hadleigh in Bloom, and cuts to 'special projects' such as the Youth Strategy. The Youth Strategy, it is proposed, will see its budget more than doubled to £7,000.

Also on the agenda for this week's meeting are proposals to move the role of Finance Officer from the Projects Officer (Alicja Barnes) to the clerk (Wendy Brame) and to contract out some of the financial tasks to a third party.