Today is the biggest day of the council calendar. Today is budget day.
Tonight at 7pm councillors will be asked to vote for Mayor Preston's budget- this will set the councils plans for the next 12 months, it will decide what will be cut, what will be slashed and what will be cancelled all together, it will also decide on how much more you as council tax payers will have to pay for all these cuts.
Currently in Preston's budget, Mr Preston wants about an extra quid a week from all band "A" properties, more for bigger bands, over 65% of properties in Middlesbrough are band "B" or below. So for them about £50 a year.
He wants to cut in half the roads and paths budget, so roads will get worse, much worse, as will paths.
He wants to slash what the council pays towards neighborhood welfare, the ASB team, and youth provisions.
He wants to cut the welfare rights department and disabled adults and children's services.
He wants to turn off half the street lights in the town for when it gets dark and he has already cancelled the street wardens.
He has invented a new much smaller team of "street wardens" to save money and called them the "Town center enforcement team" - guess who owns property in the town center?
As this is the major vote of the council year- each councillor must record their vote individually on the budget- unless the councillor is in arrears with council tax, in that case the councillor can't vote at all.
Remember councillors act on your behalf not the mayors, groups or parties. But also remember, all councillors also have a legal duty to provide a balanced budget.
Do you know how your councillor will vote?
For the record, and for the first time in our history; Labour will not vote to accept this budget.
