Comhairle pays off staff 11/10/11
Some 55 council staff have left their jobs this year as Western Isles Council struggles to tackle a £20 million financial blackhole councillors will be told tomorrow.
The cutbacks resulted in 72 staff -
It means the council’s workforce has reduced by around 5% since last year and is now estimated to be about 2,500 people. Staff numbers are expected to be further reduced in the coming months.
The isles authority is holding a budget seminar where councillors will be warned to be braced for a possible £6 million funding gap for 2012.
Painful cuts will be required to cover the shortfall before setting next year’s council tax levels.
Public consultation meetings will be held in different island districts in a few weeks after proposals are firmed up.
A number of teachers have already taken voluntary retirement and other council staff applied to leave. Others were made compulsorily redundant as a number of departments were revamped and posts merged.
The council has frozen a number of large schemes in light of a £2.2 million cut in
project funding from the Scottish Government. It now suggests committing £2.5 million
from present budgets -
It still has to decide on the multi-