A COUNCIL leader has admitted that grave financial pressures have left his authority facing its most challenging budget ever, to counter a funding shortfall.
Tens of thousands of householders across York are now being urged to assist a battle for more Government cash after the city's council identified a £3m gap in next year's budget.
Sharp rises in fuel costs, coupled with the extension in April of t
he Government's concessionary bus fare scheme for the over-60s, have accentuated an already precarious financial situation at the authority.
The city's ageing population has also compounded the problems with growing financial pressures being placed on the council's care services.
Landfill taxes have added pressure to the budget, despite the council's efforts to prevent waste ending up in tips which has seen recycling rates reach 45 per cent.
The council has long maintained it is a victim of a lack of Government funding, meaning that residents have had to shoulder the responsibility for financing services ranging from refuse collection to social care.
The city traditionally has one of the lowest council tax bills in the country, but York Council has imposed a series of above-inflation increases in recent years to ensure it has adequate finances at its disposal.
However, the financial situation has worsened and council leader Andrew Waller warned yesterday that "extremely difficult decisions" would need to be made ahead of the new financial year.
He added: "We are not asking for a special deal from the Government, just a fair deal. York has historically had to deal with significantly less funding than other similar unitary authorities – we have about £200 less to spend per head of population.
"But there are a number of issue which are converging at the same time which is making the budget for the next year the most challenging ever.
"Our objective is to maintain a level of quality services and protect the most vulnerable members of society, but the public needs to understand that there will be some extremely difficult decisions we have to make."
Despite hitting the Government's target of £10m in savings over the last three years the council is now embarking on another round of investigations to find where costs can be cut.
A questionnaire is being sent out to 90,000 households across the city to gather the public's opinions as to which services should be prioritised.
Coun Waller urged the city's taxpayers to write to the council so that officers and members can petition Ministers for more funding.
He said it was still too early to predict how much council tax bills could rise in April.
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