Other ideas include public toilet closure, redundancies across a range of council departments, bus service cuts, increased taxi licence charges, a mooring and harbour fee hike, reduced beach maintenance and axed funding for twinning.
Art and sport grants, financial support for Police Community Support Officers and Greenhill Gardens could also get the chop.
Mayor David Harris said: "At the moment just about every cut that could be made is being suggested.
"But hopefully the council will not need to make all of them.
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"The people of this borough really value the role of mayor. They are so delighted when the mayoress and I attend events."
The six-figure shortfall has been caused by a new concessionary bus travel scheme being introduced next year.
Under the scheme, over-60s and eligible disabled people will be able to travel anywhere in England for free.
But council chiefs have discovered the Government will not cover the full cost.
Uptake is expected to be very high and costly in tourist destinations like Weymouth and Portland.
Council corporate director Jason Vaughan said: "This scheme threatens to blow us off course big time.
"There is always uncertainty when planning a budget but the Government is not funding this scheme fully and therefore we have to look at all our options."
Departments where redundancies are being considered include IT, management, environmental health and property maintenance.
The council will have to find between £172,000 and £578,000.
It will be told the exact amount next month.
Mr Vaughan said: "We have to plan for the worst."
Councillor Nigel Reed, council spokesman for finance, said: "We have certain services that we have to carry out as a council. But our discretionary services are often some of the most popular ones. Some options will not be accepted by members and I think the mayor's office is a good example.
"Members see the mayor as one of the good PR machines of the council."
The council's management committee will discuss the proposals on December 4.
Posted by: I told you before on 10:01am Wed 28 Nov 07
you could start by trying to retrieve all the unpaid [bold]council tax,[/bold] and any other outstanding moneys. In the summer were not these problems due to a [bold]shortfall[/bold] in that dept?[bold] Take care of the pennies and then the pounds will take care of themselves!!![/bold] Granny told me that.
you could start by trying to retrieve all the unpaid council tax, and any other outstanding moneys. In the summer were not these problems due to a shortfall in that dept? Take care of the pennies and then the pounds will take care of themselves!!! Granny told me that.
Posted by: weymouth tax payer, weymouth on 10:31am Wed 28 Nov 07
How about a local tax on booze and take away food. After all this causes the most rubbish in the town and the visitors could pay this tax as well.
Also a local tax of say 1p on a plastic carrier bag would be a green issue.
How about a local tax on booze and take away food. After all this causes the most rubbish in the town and the visitors could pay this tax as well.
Also a local tax of say 1p on a plastic carrier bag would be a green issue.
Posted by: Ashley Newman, Weymouth on 1:35pm Wed 28 Nov 07
Councillors have decided to give themselves an increase in "expenses" to attract a wider range of people during elections. This may have an element of truth, but only certin people will ever apply (many are restricted due to work/family commitments). An extra £532 will not change a persons decision to stand as a councillor. However, this does amount to an extra £15,000 that the Council Tax payer will have to pay. The idea of a tax on takeaways is good in theory, but very difficult to implement. The Council need to get rid of things that are a drain on finance- the biggest waste is on staff. W & P Coucil pay FULL sick pay to employess (which inevitably leads to abuse). Even those on long term sick leave (more than 6 months) are still paid, no questions asked. If they are unable to do the job (i.e "stress") they should be examined by an independent GP. I am sure that massive job cuts could occur, without impacting upon services. How often do you see the small road sweeping machine with 2 people inside? However, it only takes 1 person to operate it! Does the driver get lonely? The Council are still subsidising the Weymouth Sports Centre. This place has so much potential, they should not be reliant on Council handouts. If they cannot make it profitable, the council should give it to a company that will. Don't increase taxi operator charges. This will only affect the customer (Council Tax payers), who will have to pay extra in fares as a result. A reasonable way to raise funds would be to increase the rents paid by leasehold hoteliers trading from property owned by the council. Many of them only trade 6 months of the year, with the majority deliberately trading below VAT levels. They will plead poverty when this happens, but they will have a queue of purchasers. Some of them are paying less than £8000 per year. You would struggle to rent a decent 3 bedroom house for this amount!
Councillors have decided to give themselves an increase in "expenses" to attract a wider range of people during elections. This may have an element of truth, but only certin people will ever apply (many are restricted due to work/family commitments). An extra £532 will not change a persons decision to stand as a councillor. However, this does amount to an extra £15,000 that the Council Tax payer will have to pay. The idea of a tax on takeaways is good in theory, but very difficult to implement. The Council need to get rid of things that are a drain on finance- the biggest waste is on staff. W & P Coucil pay FULL sick pay to employess (which inevitably leads to abuse). Even those on long term sick leave (more than 6 months) are still paid, no questions asked. If they are unable to do the job (i.e "stress") they should be examined by an independent GP. I am sure that massive job cuts could occur, without impacting upon services. How often do you see the small road sweeping machine with 2 people inside? However, it only takes 1 person to operate it! Does the driver get lonely? The Council are still subsidising the Weymouth Sports Centre. This place has so much potential, they should not be reliant on Council handouts. If they cannot make it profitable, the council should give it to a company that will. Don't increase taxi operator charges. This will only affect the customer (Council Tax payers), who will have to pay extra in fares as a result. A reasonable way to raise funds would be to increase the rents paid by leasehold hoteliers trading from property owned by the council. Many of them only trade 6 months of the year, with the majority deliberately trading below VAT levels. They will plead poverty when this happens, but they will have a queue of purchasers. Some of them are paying less than £8000 per year. You would struggle to rent a decent 3 bedroom house for this amount!
I have always thought councilors & ALL council officer should have some performance related pay.The only time most of us have any contact from our councillors is at election time or if they have something "Echo" worthy.In the interim what do they do? except attend meetings where they deceide that they won't make a decesion but employ some consultants to do it for them.Why not just employ the consultants in the first place and do away with the council.W&PBC should also look at staffing,I can only judge by what I see,3 staff on reception,four collecting cash(2 reading)not a good example to us poor tax payers.Can someone also tell me how twinning helps the people of Weymouth,does the town crier get paid? the Mayor his car his driver his costume how much does all this cost.If someone wants to be Mayor then it should be unpaid.We should all not be surprised when in a few months our council tax bills go through the roof,car park charges go up,and everything else is done to ensure all these wasters ensure they keep their jobs.
I have always thought councilors & ALL council officer should have some performance related pay.The only time most of us have any contact from our councillors is at election time or if they have something "Echo" worthy.In the interim what do they do? except attend meetings where they deceide that they won't make a decesion but employ some consultants to do it for them.Why not just employ the consultants in the first place and do away with the council.W&PBC should also look at staffing,I can only judge by what I see,3 staff on reception,four collecting cash(2 reading)not a good example to us poor tax payers.Can someone also tell me how twinning helps the people of Weymouth,does the town crier get paid? the Mayor his car his driver his costume how much does all this cost.If someone wants to be Mayor then it should be unpaid.We should all not be surprised when in a few months our council tax bills go through the roof,car park charges go up,and everything else is done to ensure all these wasters ensure they keep their jobs.
Posted by: Andy W, Weymouth on 2:39pm Wed 28 Nov 07
Some excellent ideas to get more money in the purse of our towns expenditure. I believe that we could easily do away with the Mayor as this post does drain the taxpayers money.
I think that there should be a public audit on the running of the entire council at ALL levels to see where OUR pennies are actually going?
It also occurs to me that the council have their offices on prime sites in town and could be moved to neighbouring industrial estates and a small office in the town for the public to purchase items and pay bills etc. As a consequence these offices could be turned into flats/ commercial site and be rented at great profit to the tax payer.
Some excellent ideas to get more money in the purse of our towns expenditure. I believe that we could easily do away with the Mayor as this post does drain the taxpayers money.
I think that there should be a public audit on the running of the entire council at ALL levels to see where OUR pennies are actually going?
It also occurs to me that the council have their offices on prime sites in town and could be moved to neighbouring industrial estates and a small office in the town for the public to purchase items and pay bills etc. As a consequence these offices could be turned into flats/ commercial site and be rented at great profit to the tax payer.
Posted by: peter, weymouth on 4:46pm Wed 28 Nov 07
One doesn’t have be be a clairvoyant to forecast that next year’s Council Tax will increase considerably. Don’t blame our councillors. Dorset consistently gets less money in the form of Government Grants than most other counties because the Government is unfairly targeting the inner city areas in its heartlands with extra resources.
But then it’s a Labour Government. Don't blame them! Blame the idiots that voted for them.
One doesn’t have be be a clairvoyant to forecast that next year’s Council Tax will increase considerably. Don’t blame our councillors. Dorset consistently gets less money in the form of Government Grants than most other counties because the Government is unfairly targeting the inner city areas in its heartlands with extra resources.
But then it’s a Labour Government. Don't blame them! Blame the idiots that voted for them.
Posted by: genghis, portland on 5:37pm Wed 28 Nov 07
[quote][bold]peter[/bold] wrote:
One doesn’t have be be a clairvoyant to forecast that next year’s Council Tax will increase considerably. Don’t blame our councillors. Dorset consistently gets less money in the form of Government Grants than most other counties because the Government is unfairly targeting the inner city areas in its heartlands with extra resources. But then it’s a Labour Government. Don't blame them! Blame the idiots that voted for them. [/quote] And when there was a Tory Government what happened? Dorset consistently got less money in the form of Government Grants because we were at that time a safe Tory seat and they had no fears that a Labour candidate could win. Ooooooops!!!!
peter wrote:
One doesn’t have be be a clairvoyant to forecast that next year’s Council Tax will increase considerably. Don’t blame our councillors. Dorset consistently gets less money in the form of Government Grants than most other counties because the Government is unfairly targeting the inner city areas in its heartlands with extra resources. But then it’s a Labour Government. Don't blame them! Blame the idiots that voted for them.
And when there was a Tory Government what happened? Dorset consistently got less money in the form of Government Grants because we were at that time a safe Tory seat and they had no fears that a Labour candidate could win. Ooooooops!!!!
Posted by: payup, Weymouth on 8:21pm Wed 28 Nov 07
WPBC should be claiming council tax from the couple of thousand 'second homes' now established and marketed by in the local caravan estates.
Has to be worth close to 2 million pound!!
WPBC should be claiming council tax from the couple of thousand 'second homes' now established and marketed by in the local caravan estates.
Has to be worth close to 2 million pound!!
Posted by: Wyke Man, Wyke on 10:18am Thu 29 Nov 07
Peter I fully understand that Dorset gets less goverment support than many other counties.Therefore W&PBC & DCC should ensure that they don't waste what little money they have.Hence my earlier comments.
Peter I fully understand that Dorset gets less goverment support than many other counties.Therefore W&PBC & DCC should ensure that they don't waste what little money they have.Hence my earlier comments.
Posted by: maximus, Weymouth on 12:30pm Thu 29 Nov 07
They could perhaps levy council tax on all the second homes (static caravans) that are such a blight on the countryside as you drive down into Preston.
They could perhaps levy council tax on all the second homes (static caravans) that are such a blight on the countryside as you drive down into Preston.
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